Kerala Blasters vs ATK: Strength, Weakness & Players to watch out

by Intern November 16, 2017

The revamped edition of Indian Super League kick-starts on, as defending champions ATK and their arch-rivals Kerala Blasters go head-to-head, in what has already promised to be a mouth-watering clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi.

Both teams will look to start the campaign with a win, while ATK has in mind to keep their dominance over Kerala Blasters continue, the hosts will look to take their revenge on ATK for their final defeat last season. The only two teams to have secured the service of a marquee player this season, ATK will be playing tomorrow in the absence of injury-hit Robbie Keane, whereas Kerala Blasters is confident with no peril to any of the members of their squad.

The most consistent teams’ in the league, Kerala Blasters and ATK have a revamped squad this time with neither side having not retained any single foreign players from the ISL 3. Both Rene Meulensteen and Teddy Sheringham will be aiming to start on a positive note at their new venture.

Kerala Blasters

KBFC pre-season training

Strength:

The attacking upfront of Kerala Blasters has Iain Hume, CK Vineeth and the mighty Berbatov, who all are well adept in demolishing the defenses. A quick gel up of them could see Kerala Blasters hammering intensely, and pursuing goal scoring records.

On the other side, Kerala Blasters has a solid and reliable defenders to rearguard their defense, with the likes of Wes Brown and captain Sandesh Jhingan adding to the magnitude and strength of their defense.

Weakness:

When reviewed, we can find the absence of a composed midfield and the lack of a reliable custodian to guard their wall. With Mehtab Hossain missing in midfield, the onus could go on Berbatov to drop back and act as playmaker, which could ultimately mean lesser chances of seeing his magic up top.

Player to watch:

Sandesh Jhingan – The newly appointed captain of Kerala Blasters, Sandesh Jhingan is one of the finest footballer the nation has ever produced till the date. Blessed with physique, pace, and attacking intent, Sandesh Jhingan is widely known as the attacking defender because of his ability to score goals at regular intervals. Back bone of both national team, and Kerala Blasters, Sandesh Jhingan would like to start his captaincy tenure with a win against one of the arch-rivals ATK.

ATK

ATK pre-season training

Strength:

The team seems to have easily switched to English flavor with alongside the foreign recruits most of the Indian recruits from draft having already played under Ashley Westwood’s direct style. ATK also have a solid midfield department, which is blessed with inclusion of Indian maestro Eugenson Lyngdoh, veteran Englishman Carl Baker, youngster Connor Thomas.

Weakness:

The injury concerns to players including marquee inclusion Robbie Keane is a threat for the team, when they take Kerala Blasters at their home. With Keane’s unavailability against Kerala, Robin Singh will have to bear extra duty, and ATK performance upfront shall rely on him.

Player to watch:

Eugenson Lyngdoh: One of the best Indian midfielder of the country, Eugenson Lyngdoh is the lynch pin of Indian Football and what he has done over the years has helped him become one of the costliest players of this ISL. A player blessed with creativity and talent, Eugenson’s invincible approach in the middle of the park has always bolstered his team and his arrival to ATK is no different. Eugenson will look to retain his spot as the best of the nation against Kerala Blasters.

Head-to-head

Matches – 8

Kerala Blasters – 1

ATK – 5

Draw – 2

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