Hyderabad: Hyderabad Football Club (FC) are back in action as they kick off the second phase of the league, with a promising Friday night encounter against Bengaluru FC at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
HFC are currently second in the league table with 22 points and will look to put pressure on league leaders Mumbai City FC (24 pts).
Simon Grayson’s side, who fell to a 1-0 defeat at the Gachibowli Stadium earlier this season, will look to climb up the points table with a positive result in this game.
Bengaluru FC (BFC) is fresh from a 1-0 victory over Jamshedpur FC, and has now picked up two wins in their last four games. The likes of Sunil Chhetri, Roy Krishna, Javi Hernandez, Danish Farooq, Roshan Naorem and Sivasakthi make up a formidable lineup, who can beat any team on their day.
HFC Head Coach Manolo Marquez believes that Bengaluru are not far from finding their form.
“BFC are eight points off the qualifying spots and have to win this game. I am sure we will face a strong and determined team this Friday,” said the Spaniard.
Hyderabad, who beat Chennaiyin and East Bengal in their last two games, will be quietly confident on their trip to Bengaluru. HFC have lost just once on the road this season but will need a strong performance from the entire unit, in this game.
Bartholomew Ogbeche’s form could be a concern but the likes of Halicharan Narzary, Borja Herrera and Javi Siverio have turned up with the goods when needed.
Manolo Marquez also believes that his side will be ready for this tie. “We are into the second half of the competition and it only gets tougher now, like in every other league. But we will take it game by game and try to win every game,” he said.
The HFC backline has been in fine form in this season as well, conceding just six goals, keeping six clean sheets in their first 10 games this season.
BFC have struggled in front of goal, with just seven goals scored so far but with their home fans pushing them, they will surely be a force to contend with in this game.
The game kicks-off at 7:30 pm tomorrow.
