ISL: Blues meet NorthEast in mid-table spar

Bengaluru: A regrouped Bengaluru FC take on an inconsistent NorthEast United in the Indian Super League at the Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday. Fresh off a much-needed victory against Jamshedpur FC, Gerard Zaragoza’s debut as BFC head coach showed promise as the players exuded vim and displayed resilience.

Bengaluru FC sit ninth, tied on points with NorthEast, who have a game in hand. Juan Pedro Benali’s side began the season with a bang, but have fizzled out and slipped down the rungs of the league table. The Highlanders are winless in their last five, a run that includes a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of East Bengal. NorthEast have been found lacking on the road, and have notched up just two points from four away matches. They run into Bengaluru FC, who are a tough nut to crack at the Kanteerava. 

This is the last Indian Super League fixture for Bengaluru FC ahead of a lengthy break, as the focus shifts to the Kalinga Super Cup scheduled to take place in Bhubaneshwar from January 9 onwards. So finishing on a high after a dismal start to the campaign is imperative for last year’s runners-up. 

The Blues secured only their second clean sheet of the season last time out. Prior to Zaragoza’s arrival, BFC had conceded 18 goals from 10 matches this season, and the porous back-line was a cause of worry.

Bengaluru FC will be without the suspended Slavko Damjanovic. In attack, the focus will be on midfielder Javi Hernandez, whom Zaragoza trusts to execute the Catalan style of play - quick one-touch passes and smart off-the ball movement.

"We changed the mentality of the players, how they faced the game, how they fought together and all these changes made me proud. We spoke a lot during the previous 24 hours and that's something we tried to bring in this week," Zaragoza said during the pre-match press conference on Saturday.