ISL 2023-24: Top spot at stake as red-hot Odisha FC take on Kerala Blasters

Odisha FC will host Kerala Blasters FC in an exciting clash set to bring the audience to the edge of their seats at the Kalinga Stadium in the Indian Super League ISL 202324 here on ThursdayThe current ISL season has thrown up many narratives and one of the most remarkable of them has been the return of Sergio Lobera to the helm of the Juggernauts After successful stints at FC Goa and Mumbai City FC the Spaniard didnrsquot shy away from undertaking a new challenge altogether at a club that seemed to have been perennially stuck in the middle of the table for the last few seasonsAlso ReadAbhinav Bindra selected as torchbearer for the 2024 Paris OlympicsLobera not only brought a winning mentality to the club but also propelled their success at the continental level helping them qualify for the knockouts of the AFC Cup Currently the team is third in the standings just two points behind the topplaced Kerala Blasters FCA victory in this fixture will help them pip the Ivan Vukomanoviccoached side in the standings whereas a positive result for the Kochibased outfit will help them build distance with one of their nearest competitorsKerala Blasters FC on the other hand have the impeccable advantage of entering the halfway mark of the campaign at the top spot Powered by dynamic forwards and a sturdy defence they produced impressive performances often riding on the support that they garner at home This will be a different challenge thoughOdisha FC must have started the season a bit inconsistently but they have only grown in confidence as the campaign has progressed Taking them on at home will be no easy challenge and with FC Goa and Loberarsquos men sniffing around the first place Kerala Blasters FC cannot afford slipups at this stage eitherRegardless of the good that has been done so far Lobera fell short of catching hold of his first silverware with Odisha FC by losing the Kalinga Super Cup final to East Bengal FC at home He was eager to make amends for that with a strong finish in the points table here and the journey for the same starts with locking horns against one of the most profound teams in the leagueThey will be keen to make the most of the home advantage too having won their last four games in the stadium in the ISL and three points in this encounter will see them create a record of this sort in the competitions history Furthermore they are slowly working towards making this a bastion of theirs in the league having been unbeaten in all seven ISL fixtures they have played in at the Kalinga Stadium under LoberaThere are multiple ways in which one can decipher Loberarsquos philosophy but a strong start to the game is one of the foundations of the same Odisha FC have scored 11 goals in the first 15 minutes of their ISL games in this campaign which is the most amongst all sides They will be aiming for another such initiation to the match against the league leaders with a hope to push them on the backfoot right from the offsetFor starters it is safe to say that Kerala Blasters FC have no issues finding their scoring boots against Odisha FC They have found the back of the net eight consecutive times against the Juggernauts which is their longest such active streak against any side in ISL over the past 9 seasonsTheir attacking contingent can take a hit with the absence of Adrian Luna and Kwame Peprah due to injuries However Dimitrios Diamantakos has therefore risen to the challenge and ensured that they do not face any concerns on the offensive frontDiamantakos has recorded the best differential between expected goals 33 and actual goals scored seven in the ongoing Indian Super League season 37 xG value He has also recorded nine goal contributions this term the most by any player in the competition seven goals and two assistsIt will perhaps be a battle between the dynamism upfront presented by the Juggernauts against the defensive solidity of the Kerala Blasters FC All these factors blend together to give rise to a game of numerous ups and downs and the team that manages to hold their own until the end will walk away with the bragging rightsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever