Saturday night sees playoff contenders Jamshedpur play host to Avram Grant’s struggling NorthEast United. Jamshedpur will be looking at winning the game to pull ahead of the teams below them, who are bidding for that final playoff place. They could also go level on points with 2nd place Pune, so there’s a lot at stake for Jamshedpur. On the other hand, NorthEast aren’t going to make the playoffs, so their season is pretty much over. How Avram Grant will be able to motivate his players, I do not know, however, he will need to as Jamshedpur will be looking to win.
The Stats…
Jamshedpur go into the game sitting in 4th place, a point above 5th place and three points behind 2nd place. They have a poor goalscoring record this season, only managing fourteen goals, but their defensive record is the best in the league, only conceding twelve goals in total. They go into the game in fantastic form, winning four and losing one in their previous five. Six out of their last seven games have seen both teams score and over 2.5 goals, so the game could have a few goals within it.
NorthEast go into the game sitting second bottom, four points above bottom of the league. They have the joint worst goalscoring record in the league, only managing ten goals this season, and their defensive record is one of the worst in the league, conceding twenty goals over the course of the season. They go into the game in pretty poor form, losing three, winning one and drawing one of their previous five. They haven’t won in three games and they haven’t kept a clean sheet in ten games, which is pretty dreadful.
Previous Encounter…
The last time these two sides met was back in November 2017. The game was a contender for worst game of the season as it ended in a 0-0 draw and the only entertaining bit was a red card for Jamshedpur defender Andre Bikey.
NorthEast dominated the possession stat, with 63% and dominated the shots stat with sixteen shots compared to Jamshedpur’s ten shots. Both keepers were fairly untested and the game was easily forgotten by everyone.
The Game Itself…
Unfortunately, I cannot see the game, this time around, being much better than their previous meeting. Both teams aren’t known for their goalscoring prowess and Jamshedpur are known for being a very hard team to break down.
I expect NorthEast to dominate possession again as Steve Coppell sets his side up to soak up the pressure and hit teams on the break, and it is obviously working as they sit in the playoff places. I wouldn’t go into the game expecting a free-flowing, open game. Sorry if I just broke your dream!
Key Player...
This time around it’s quite difficult to pick a player as both teams don’t really have a star player, someone who really stands out to you. NorthEast have both Marcinho and Doungel who could impact the game but they aren’t that consistent and can go missing in games.
On the other side, Jamshedpur have a couple of players who can impact the game. Both Emana and Balwant Singh come to mind, but like their counterparts, they can be inconsistent.
So, I have decided to give the award to Jamshedpur playmaker, Thiago Santos. At the top of his game, he is probably one of the best in the league. His link-up play with Balwant Singh is brilliant and he can pop up with a goal every now and then.
Finally…
With all of this being said, I will simply leave you with this. The game will be boring, the goals will come from counter attacks and I can’t see NorthEast finding the net because they have a terrible scoring record and Jamshedpur are brilliant at defending. Now I have said this, NorthEast will win in a 3-2 or 4-3 goal fest.
