ISL: Chennaiyin aim for a league double against Hyderabad

FATORDA (Goa), Jan 12 : Chennaiyin FC will look to complete a league double over Hyderabad FC when they clash in the 2021-22 Hero Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Thursday.

Chennaiyin had kickstarted the campaign by defeating Hyderabad in their season opener. And now both the teams, after playing 10 games each, will be facing each other once again. With just two points separating, Chennaiyin and Hyderabad are placed sixth and fourth respectively on the points table.

Addressing the media on Wednesday during a virtual pre-match press conference, Chennaiyin FC's head Bozidar Bandovic said he is expecting a difficult game tomorrow, adding, "Hyderabad are a good side and one of the best organised teams in the league."

Aware of the challenges against Hyderabad, the Montenegrin coach urged his side to come up with a more aggressive approach. "We need to be better in the attack. Especially in the last game (against FC Goa), we were not good—we lost so many duels and second balls from the opponent. We need to be close to them to be in a better position and be more aggressive. We just need to repeat what we did in some of the games," the coach said.

Chennaiyin and Hyderabad are coming into the match following identical defeats in their respective last outings. Bandovic also threw weight behind Nerijus Valskis to come good in the coming matches. The Lithuanian striker played his first game against FC Goa last week after his arrival at the club recently.

"We, as a team, weren't good at attacking. We can't judge him after just one game. We believe in him and he needs (to be given) little time. I'm sure he will do well. We all know he has the quality. As a team we need to be better in attack and help him convert chances and score goals," Bandovic further added.

Goalkeeper Debjit Majumder, who has been impressive in his two outings so far for the Marina Machans, said he is looking to play every game and perform consistently.

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