ISL 2015: Three reasons why Chennaiyin and Delhi will play out a draw tonight
With three games remaining in the league phase, sixth placed Chennaiyin do not have much margin for error when they host Delhi Dynamos at the Marina arena tonight. The visitors are on a five-match unbeaten run, but Marco Materazzi's men would have regained a lot of belief after their emphatic 4-1 win over Kerala Blasters in their last game.
Prediction
Chennaiyin 1-1 Delhi Dynamos
Chennaiyin have finally found Jayesh Rane's replacement
Marco Materazzi made a slight change in formation and personnel in their last game against Kerala, and it worked wonders. After fiddling with Fikru and Balwant Singh, following the injury to Jayesh Rane, he seemed to have found the second-best strike partnership available for him at the moment– Stiven Mendoza and Jeje Lalpekhlua.
Jeje is the closest replacement for Rane with his dynamic pace and movement off the ball. The duo of Mendoza and Jeje will stretch the Delhi defence, and their ability to run in-behind the defenders, will provide the likes of Elano and Raphael Augusto a lot of targets to hit with their long passes.
Delhi's defence to neutralize Chennaiyin's threat upfront
Delhi's good position in the points table is entirely based on a solid defense at the back. John Arne Riise and Anas Edathodika have formed a commendable partnership at the center, while Chicao has protected the back-four from the midfield.
Statistically, Delhi have the best defence in the league, having conceded the fewest goals – nine. Chennaiyin's strength lies in their dynamic attack, which has scored 17 goals so far, but they will find it hard to score too many against this resolute Delhi defence.
Florent Malouda vs Rafael Augusto
Notwithstanding their 3-1 over Pune City FC in the last game, Delhi have struggled to score this season. In fact, they have scored the fewest number of goals– 11. One of the main reasons behind this, apart from a lot of missed chances, is their over-dependence on Florent Malouda. The Frenchman has the most number of assists in the league (6) and if Chennaiyin find a way to stop him, they will make it hard for Delhi to score.
Chennaiyin midfielder Rafael Augusto will be Materazzi's weapon to nullify Malouda. The Brazilian has been in sensational form this season, and has arguably been among the top-three central midfielders in the league. He has the second highest successful tackles (57), second highest interceptions (21) and has made the third highest successful passes (630) – after Leo Moura and Malouda.
It is fair to say that the former French international, will find it hard to influence the game with Augusto 'handling' him, which significantly brings down Delhi's chances of grabbing all the three points at Marina Arena tonight.
