Kerala Blasters is on a dream run that has taken it to the top of the table at the halfway stage of the ISL.
And that is someplace the men from Kochi have not been to in seven years. They would surely march on to Vasco’s Tilak Maidan Stadium on Wednesday night confident of putting on another good show, against Odisha FC.
Odisha won’t exactly be short on confidence, either. In its last match, it had stunned defending champion Mumbai City 4-2.
Despite that splendid victory, Odisha is placed eighth, with 13 points from nine matches. Blasters has 17, from 10 games.
In the last nine of those matches, it hasn’t lost even once. A solid defence and some superb saves under the bar are among the reasons for that.
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Blasters has been as impressive in the midfield and up front too. Adrian Luna, the talented midfielder from Uruguay, has been its standout performer, and there have been fine shows from the likes of Sahal Samad, Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Alvaro Vazquez as well.
Odisha defence has to be at its best if they want to stop those men from shaking the net behind their goalkeeper. The fact is Odisha hasn’t defended well enough this season, having let in 22 goals; no team has conceded more.
Once again, Odisha will be looking to Jerry Mawihmingthanga, who scored two lovely goals in that come-from-behind victory over Mumbai, for inspiration. The Kalinga Warriors will be hoping for an encore from the 24-year-old.
