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I-League Forecast: Round 20
Goal.com's Amoy Ghoshal gives his predictions for round 20 of the I-League...
04-Apr-2010 11:51:00 PM
By Amoy Ghoshal
Last Round's Performance:
Correct Result: 3/6
Exact Scoreline: 1/6
Season Performance:
Correct Results: 53/131
Exact Scoreline: 14/131
Air India – Viva Kerala
Air India’s 1-1 draw against Shillong Lajong in the last round was their second successive stalemate and it moved them up to eighth in the table. However they are only three points above the bottom two so the Airmen do need to beat the teams that are around them. Viva Kerala extended their unbeaten streak to six matches after earning a point away at Chirag. A.M. Sreedharan’s side are currently in the top half and have picked up eight points from their last four away matches. Air India have won only two out of 12 matches at the Cooperage so that should give in-form Viva confidence. The southern club did win when the two sides met in Kerala earlier in the campaign but I don’t think they will be able to the double. Yusif Ansari’s side will be difficult to play against so I expect a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Sporting Clube de Goa – JCT
Sporting registered only their second win of the campaign in the last round by beating local rivals Salgaocar 3-1. It was Sporting’s first win in Goa, which moved them within six points off safety. On the other hand, JCT went down 0-6 at the hands of Churchill Brothers to suffer their seventh and overall the biggest defeat of this season. The club from Ludhiana are only two points above the drop zone so they do need something out of this. The Flaming Oranje are still rock bottom but they have only lost one out of their last six. JCT don’t travel well as they just two wins out of nine so coach Parminder Singh will be a worried man. JCT won by two goals in Ludhiana but I expect Sporting to take advantage of JCT’s poor away record and get all three points from this.
Prediction: 2-1
Mahindra United – Mumbai FC
Mahindra won the battle of the top two against Dempo to go top of the table and now hold a one point lead with only seven games remaining. David Booth’s side have only lost once this season and have the best goal difference so clearly they have been one of the most consistent teams. Meanwhile Mumbai are on free fall at the moment with five defeats in their last seven which keeps in the bottom two. Khalid Jamil’s side have drawn each of their three Mumbai derbies this season and going by their recent form, even a point from this game will be a good result. Anything less than a win will be a disappointment for Mahindra so the Indian Red Devils will be looking for their sixth victory at the Cooperage. The league leaders are the clear favourites and I think they will comfortably take all three points.
Prediction: 3-1
Chirag United – Pune FC
Chirag’s title hopes faded further in the last round as they could only play out a 1-1 draw against Viva Kerala at home. The Kolkata club are six points off the top so they need a near perfect finish to stand any chance of winning the title. Mathematically that is still possible for Pune also, but like Chirag even they need a flawless ending. Derrick Pereira’s side put an end to their three match winless run with three away points away at Mumbai FC. The I-League debutants have picked up four points from their last two visits to Kolkata so they will be confident of scoring a victory in this. Chirag were very impressive at home earlier in the season but have picked up just one point from their last four in Kolkata. Both sides are pretty close to each other in the table so I expect a tight encounter and it should end all square.
Prediction: 1-1
Mohun Bagan – Salgaocar
Mohun Bagan’s first assignment under new coach Biswajit Bhattacharjee is a home game against Salgaocar, who are currently coached by former Bagan tactician Karim Bencherifa. The Moroccan coach parted ways with the Mariners under controversial circumstances so he might want to prove a point by getting an unlikely away win. Bagan are eleven points behind leaders Mahindra so their title ambitions don’t look that bright even though they have a game in hand. However they would first aim to bounce back after back to back home defeats against two of the relegation contenders. Salgaocar’s survival fight suffered a massive blow in the last round against Sporting so they too are desperate for points. It will be a hard fought game but like it often happens for a new coach, I expect the Kolkata giants to make a winning start under Bhattacharjee.
Prediction: 2-1
Churchill Brothers – Shillong Lajong
Churchill drubbed JCT 6-0 to not only record the biggest win of this campaign but also send out a warning to their title rivals that they are still very much in the hunt. The defending champions are seven points off the top and have a game in hand so they still have a very good chance. I-League debutants Shillong Lajong extended their unbeaten run to five matches in the last round and are currently out of the bottom two. But they are only one point above 13th placed Mumbai so there is still a lot to be done in the remaining seven matches. The win against JCT was Churchill’s first win in Goa in three matches so Carlos Roberto Pareira’s team will now be aiming for consistency. Lajong have one of the worst away records and did suffer a heavy defeat in their last visit to Goa. I expect the north eastern club to put up a fight but I can only see Churchill winning this.
Prediction: 2-0
East Bengal – Dempo
East Bengal are one of India’s representatives in this season’s AFC Cup but their form in 2010 has been horrible. The heavy defeat at the hands of Salgaocar extended their winless run to a record thirteen games in all competitions. They are currently 10th and only a point above the drop zone so another defeat could raise serious questions about their survival. Dempo on the other hand will be looking to bounce back after losing top spot to Mahindra. Armando Colaco’s side have only picked one point from their last three matches outside Goa so they do need a big performance in this game. A point away at Kolkata is never a bad result but Dempo have very little room for error so they do need three points from this. The two sides played out a goalless stalemate in Goa and I expect another draw between them but this one should have a few goals.
Prediction: 1-1
Leave your predictions in the comments box and find out how many you get right.
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Correct Result: 3/6
Exact Scoreline: 1/6
Season Performance:
Correct Results: 53/131
Exact Scoreline: 14/131
Air India – Viva Kerala
Air India’s 1-1 draw against Shillong Lajong in the last round was their second successive stalemate and it moved them up to eighth in the table. However they are only three points above the bottom two so the Airmen do need to beat the teams that are around them. Viva Kerala extended their unbeaten streak to six matches after earning a point away at Chirag. A.M. Sreedharan’s side are currently in the top half and have picked up eight points from their last four away matches. Air India have won only two out of 12 matches at the Cooperage so that should give in-form Viva confidence. The southern club did win when the two sides met in Kerala earlier in the campaign but I don’t think they will be able to the double. Yusif Ansari’s side will be difficult to play against so I expect a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Sporting Clube de Goa – JCT
Sporting registered only their second win of the campaign in the last round by beating local rivals Salgaocar 3-1. It was Sporting’s first win in Goa, which moved them within six points off safety. On the other hand, JCT went down 0-6 at the hands of Churchill Brothers to suffer their seventh and overall the biggest defeat of this season. The club from Ludhiana are only two points above the drop zone so they do need something out of this. The Flaming Oranje are still rock bottom but they have only lost one out of their last six. JCT don’t travel well as they just two wins out of nine so coach Parminder Singh will be a worried man. JCT won by two goals in Ludhiana but I expect Sporting to take advantage of JCT’s poor away record and get all three points from this.
Prediction: 2-1
Mahindra United – Mumbai FC
Mahindra won the battle of the top two against Dempo to go top of the table and now hold a one point lead with only seven games remaining. David Booth’s side have only lost once this season and have the best goal difference so clearly they have been one of the most consistent teams. Meanwhile Mumbai are on free fall at the moment with five defeats in their last seven which keeps in the bottom two. Khalid Jamil’s side have drawn each of their three Mumbai derbies this season and going by their recent form, even a point from this game will be a good result. Anything less than a win will be a disappointment for Mahindra so the Indian Red Devils will be looking for their sixth victory at the Cooperage. The league leaders are the clear favourites and I think they will comfortably take all three points.
Prediction: 3-1
Chirag United – Pune FC
Chirag’s title hopes faded further in the last round as they could only play out a 1-1 draw against Viva Kerala at home. The Kolkata club are six points off the top so they need a near perfect finish to stand any chance of winning the title. Mathematically that is still possible for Pune also, but like Chirag even they need a flawless ending. Derrick Pereira’s side put an end to their three match winless run with three away points away at Mumbai FC. The I-League debutants have picked up four points from their last two visits to Kolkata so they will be confident of scoring a victory in this. Chirag were very impressive at home earlier in the season but have picked up just one point from their last four in Kolkata. Both sides are pretty close to each other in the table so I expect a tight encounter and it should end all square.
Prediction: 1-1
Mohun Bagan – Salgaocar
Mohun Bagan’s first assignment under new coach Biswajit Bhattacharjee is a home game against Salgaocar, who are currently coached by former Bagan tactician Karim Bencherifa. The Moroccan coach parted ways with the Mariners under controversial circumstances so he might want to prove a point by getting an unlikely away win. Bagan are eleven points behind leaders Mahindra so their title ambitions don’t look that bright even though they have a game in hand. However they would first aim to bounce back after back to back home defeats against two of the relegation contenders. Salgaocar’s survival fight suffered a massive blow in the last round against Sporting so they too are desperate for points. It will be a hard fought game but like it often happens for a new coach, I expect the Kolkata giants to make a winning start under Bhattacharjee.
Prediction: 2-1
Churchill Brothers – Shillong Lajong
Churchill drubbed JCT 6-0 to not only record the biggest win of this campaign but also send out a warning to their title rivals that they are still very much in the hunt. The defending champions are seven points off the top and have a game in hand so they still have a very good chance. I-League debutants Shillong Lajong extended their unbeaten run to five matches in the last round and are currently out of the bottom two. But they are only one point above 13th placed Mumbai so there is still a lot to be done in the remaining seven matches. The win against JCT was Churchill’s first win in Goa in three matches so Carlos Roberto Pareira’s team will now be aiming for consistency. Lajong have one of the worst away records and did suffer a heavy defeat in their last visit to Goa. I expect the north eastern club to put up a fight but I can only see Churchill winning this.
Prediction: 2-0
East Bengal – Dempo
East Bengal are one of India’s representatives in this season’s AFC Cup but their form in 2010 has been horrible. The heavy defeat at the hands of Salgaocar extended their winless run to a record thirteen games in all competitions. They are currently 10th and only a point above the drop zone so another defeat could raise serious questions about their survival. Dempo on the other hand will be looking to bounce back after losing top spot to Mahindra. Armando Colaco’s side have only picked one point from their last three matches outside Goa so they do need a big performance in this game. A point away at Kolkata is never a bad result but Dempo have very little room for error so they do need three points from this. The two sides played out a goalless stalemate in Goa and I expect another draw between them but this one should have a few goals.
Prediction: 1-1
Leave your predictions in the comments box and find out how many you get right.
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