Kerala Blasters FC will be keen to sign out with a victory at home as it faces NorthEast United FC in its concluding rubber of the Indian Super League. The yellow brigade will be hoping to satisfy its fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday.
Recently, Kerala reversed its fortunes as it ended the 14-match winless streak with a 3-0 victory against Chennaiyin FC at home.
“Tomorrow it is important to play a good game and win the last game. NorthEast United club means a lot to me because they gave me the first chance to come to India in 2016. I would like to congratulate them for making it to the play-offs," said Kerala coach Nelo Vingada.
NorthEast United has already sealed its place in the playoffs, having earned 28 points from 17 matches. Eelco Schattorie has had to shuffle his first team quite a bit this season due to a lack of depth in the squad, injuries and suspensions.
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"At this moment we have five injuries. Today we just had 18 players on the field. Out of those two are suspended that leaves us (with) 16. Out of those, three have three yellow cards that means I cannot play them, because that's a risk going into the play-offs. Out of the remaining 13 players, four of them have never played this season so they lack match fitness," the Dutchman said.
Goalkeepers TP Rehenesh and Pawan Kumar are injured, apart from Rupert Nongrum and Provat Lakra. Jose Leudo will miss out after picking up a red card in their last game, a 1-1 draw against Pune.
Schattorie has no choice but field inexperienced campaigners. Bengaluru FC fielded its reserves against Jamshedpur FC and was thrashed 5-1 after taking the lead on Wednesday.
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