Pune take on Chennaiyin FC in a battle for top spot

High on confidence after their back-to-back wins, a resurgent FC Pune City take on another in-form team Chennaiyin FC in a Hero Indian Super League fixture here tomorrow.

A win for either side at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium tomorrow would take them to the top spot in the league standings at the halfway point of the group stages.

Pune began their campaign on a disastrous note and they looked like one of the weakest teams in the tournament after suffering a 0-5 thrashing at the hands of Mumbai City FC in their second match.

But, they bounced back quickly with three wins in their next four matches and are now at third spot at the league standings with 10 points from six matches, having won thrice, drawn once and lost twice.

Pune go into tomorrow's game on the back of a remarkable 3-1 away win against Atletico de Kolkata, becoming the first team to inflict defeat on the current league leaders.

For Chennaiyin FC, tomorrow's match will be the third consecutive game they have gone into the fixture knowing a win would take them to the top of the league. The previous two ended in draws and Chennai will be looking to get back to winning ways.

ATK are on 12 points from seven matches while Mumbai are on 11 from the same number of games.The home side though will be without Dutch midfielder John Goossens, who scored a last-gasp winner against NorthEast United FC, after he injured himself following an aerial clash with his team-mate goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya in their last match.

However, Pune will be boosted by the availability of former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant who is expected to play tomorrow.