FC Goa play hosts to FC Pune City in hopes to end the first phase of the Indian Super League (ISL) Season 2 with a win and back on top of the table. The match will be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Margao, Goa, on Friday evening with a kick-off time of 19.00 IST.
Zico has the task of getting his side back to winning ways after their 0-2 defeat to Mumbai City FC at the DY Patil stadium on Sunday that allowed Pune City to climb on top of their Goan counterpart courtesy their win over Kerala Blasters FC on Tuesday.
“We are preparing to face a very hard team. We have to give our best. We have to be very patient because we have 90 minutes to win the game,” said the home team’s coach Zico.
FC Goa are currently sweating on quite a few injuries in the team. Darryl Duffy is down with a knock he suffered in the match against Mumbai City. Jofre, Reinaldo and Victorino Fernandes are not completely fit, while Keenan Almeida is yet to recover from pneumonia.
The Brazilian meanwhile looks forward to the rest of his squad as he remarked, “I trust in all my players. It doesn’t matter who is out. I give all my players a lot of confidence so that they can give their best. If they are in FC Goa, it’s because they can show their worth and I count on that.”
FC Pune City and FC Goa play each other twice in three matches, and the Pune based team boast of a full strength squad as Jackichand Singh and Lenny Rodrigues are believed to have recovered from their injuries.
“Anything could happened between the next two games between ourselves and Goa,” remarked Pune City’s head coach David Platt. “Touchwood, we don’t get any injuries and I’m sure that Zico will want to get some of his players back.”
“I am aware of the kind of Zico likes to play and that Goa like to play. Certainly, if they get ahead in a match, they can cause you problems,” he added.
The encounter will also witness a star galore as FC Goa co-owner Virat Kohli along with 14-time world Billiards champion Pankaj Advani other than Bollywood actors Varun Dhawan and Irfan Khan will be gracing the tie with their presence.
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