Federation Cup semi-finals Preview: Sporting Clube de Goa vs Bengaluru FC
Reigning I-League champions Bengaluru FC take on local side Sporting Clube de Goa in the second semi-final of the Hero Federation Cup on Friday. Sporting Clube de Goa dramatically progressed to the last four stage defeating Kolkata giants East Bengal 4-3 in the final group game.
Bengaluru FC have looked like one of the best sides in this year’s Federation Cup. They were unbeaten in a group which was considered to be the group of death. They are the only team out of the four teams, who does not belong to Goa. It will be an interesting battle for Bengaluru at Goa against the Goan teams.
Venue
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, also known as the Fatorda Stadium is located in Margao, Goa and is a multi-purpose stadium, which has been host to a number of international cricket and football games. Goa has been on a splurge to bring into existence more state of the art grounds. But as it stands, Jawaharlal Nehru or the Fatorda Stadium is the only international venue in the state having a seating capacity of 24,500.
Kick-Off – 7:00 pm (Friday)
Probable Line-Ups and Team News
Bengaluru FC (4-3-3): Lalthuammawia Ralte, Rino Anto, John Johnson, Curtis Osano, Keegan Pereira, Darren Caldeira, Thoi Singh, Josh Walker, Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh, Sean Rooney.
Sporting Clube de Goa (4-4-2): Ravi Kumar, Biswajit Saha, Joyner Lourenco, Kofi Dan Kowa, Rojen Singh, Beeven D’Mello, Rowlin Borjes, Cajetan Fernandes, Victorino Fernandes, Kalu Ogba, Anthony Wolfe
Form Guide in Federation Cup
Bengaluru FC: W-D-W-W
Sporting Clube de Goa: L-L-W-W
Key Battles
Sunil Chhetri vs Kofi Dan Kowa
Bengaluru Fc’s captain Sunil Chhetri is the key man in the team. The Indian captain is the top scorer in the tournament currently with 4 goals from as many matches. In the last match, he scored a brace which include a brilliant overhead kick goal.
He is the team’s talisman and plays down the left flank, busy creating chances and scoring goals. Alex Alvares’ men need to keep the national team captain in check. Defender Kofi Dan Kowa who was instrumental in marking Ranti Martins and Dudu Omagbemi in the last game will be in charge of marking Chhetri in the semi-final.
Victorino Fernandes vs John Johnson
Victorino Fernandes scored a spectacular hat-trick last game against East Bengal to take his team to the semi-finals. This opportunistic Indian striker has the ability to score goals from any situation. With Anthony Wolfe’s support, Fernandes is looking extremely dangerous. John Johnson will be in charge of marking the Indian striker who is also in the race to win the top scorer award in the Hero Federation Cup.
Prediction
Sporting Clube de Goa 1-2 Bengaluru FC