Thursday night sees to playoff contenders clash as FC Goa play host to Chennaiyin. Goa will be going into the game needing to win as Chennaiyin are currently above them and the gap is four points. Chennaiyin will want to extend the gap to seven points and basically kill Goa’s hopes of reaching the playoffs. Let’s get right to the stats.
The Stats…
Goa go into the game sitting in 6th place, four points behind their opponents and only three points above 7th place Mumbai. They will be wanting to win the game and their goalscoring record will help them out as they have scored twenty-nine goals this season. However, their defensive record may let them down as they have one of the worst defensive records in the league, conceding twenty-five goals this season. They are coming into the game in mixed form, winning two, losing two and drawing one in their previous five.
Chennaiyin go into the game in 4th position, four points ahead of their opponents and hoping they can extend that gap to seven points. They have a good goal scoring record, scoring twenty-one goals this season. Their defensive record isn’t that bad either after only conceding eighteen goals this season. The go into the game in the same form as their opponents, winning two, losing two and drawing one of their previous five.
Previous Encounters…
The last time these two met was back in November 2017 with the game being a contender for game of the season. The game ended in a 3-2 win for Goa, after scoring three goals in the first half. Chennaiyin started to stage a comeback and scored two in the last twenty minutes but they couldn’t find the third goal and fell to a defeat.
The game was an open, end to end, free-flowing game that had some of the best-attacking football the league has ever seen.
The Game Itself…
From a neutral’s standpoint, if we could get a game like their previous meeting, then everyone will be more than happy and, to be perfectly honest, I can see it happening again. Goa love scoring goals and both teams are desperate for the win.
I expect the possession to be fairly close, with Goa probably taking the majority. However, it will go down to how many chances each team makes and takes, which is something I cannot predict whatsoever.
Key Player…
This games award is a tough one as both teams have some very influential players. Looking at Chennaiyin, you could pick striker Jeje, with his finishing attributes. You could go with a more creative player in winger Gregory Nelson. But none of these are my choice.
The player I have chosen for my Key Player is Ferran Corominas. He has been involved in so many of Goa’s goals and he is probably the reason Goa are looking at the playoffs right now. It was a close contest between him and his teammate Lanzarote, however, Corominas will always be above Lanzarote in my eyes.
Finally…
With all this being said, I will simply leave you with this. I expect the game to be a very entertaining one and will be quite a close battle between two great teams. I made a prediction in our group chat last night saying that I believe Chennaiyin won’t make the playoffs, so, my prediction for the game is a Goa win, but it’s a very hard game to call with both teams desperate to win the game.
