ISL 2018-19: League to resume from January 25 with Kerala Blasters hosting ATK - Full fixtures
The second phase of the Indian Super League will kick-start from January 25 with Kerala Blasters hosting ATK in Kochi, the league organisers have announced.
NorthEast United will then play against Chennaiyin FC in the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.
The top two teams of the ISL will renew their rivalry on January 27 at the Mumbai Football Arena with Mumbai City FC looking to cut Bengaluru FC's lead at the top of the table.
Bengaluru FC lead the table with 27 points in 11 matches and Mumbai are three points behind them, having played a game more. FC Goa and NorthEast United both have 20 points and make up the top four.
BFC, the runners-up last time around, play their first home game on Jan 30 against NorthEast United. FC Goa also face Jamshedpur FC in the first week at the Fatorda Stadium on Jan 28.
Barring BFC and Goa, the rest of the teams have played 12 games each.
The league stage concludes on March 3 with ATK hosting Delhi Dynamos at the Salt Lake Stadium.
All matches will kick off at 7.30 pm IST and will be broadcast on Star Sports Network, Hotstar and Jio TV.
The dates for the playoffs will be announced at a later date.
The league went into a break after the Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters game on December 16. It was to ensure the Indian national football team gets ample amount of time to prepare for the Asian Cup 2019.
India did well in their opening game against Thailand, winning 4-1. But they lost their other two Group A matches against UAE (0-2) and Bahrain (0-1) to bow out of the tournament in the first round itself.
Twenty-two of the 23 players in the national team play in the ISL. The other, Salam Ranjan Singh, plays for East Bengal.
Also see : Gold Cup Standings, Copa America Standings, Womens World Cup Bracket
Interestingly, the I-League did not have a break like the ISL.
Fixtures:
Jan 25: Kerala Blasters vs ATK
Jan 26: NorthEast United vs Chennaiyin FC
Jan 27: Mumbai City FC vs Bengaluru FC
Jan 28: FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FC
Jan 30: Bengaluru FC vs NorthEast United FC
Jan 31: Delhi Dynamos vs Kerala Blasters
Feb 1: Mumbai City FC vs FC Goa
Feb 2: Chennaiyin FC vs FC Pune City
Feb 3: ATK vs Jamshedpur FC
Feb 4: Delhi Dynamos vs FC Goa
Feb 6: Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters
Feb 7: NorthEast United vs Delhi Dynamos
Feb 8: Jamshedpur FC vs Mumbai City FC
Feb 9: Chennaiyin FC vs Bengaluru FC
Feb 10: FC Pune City vs ATK
Feb 13: Mumbai City FC vs NorthEast United FC
Feb 14: FC Goa vs ATK
Feb 15: Kerala Blasters vs Chennaiyin FC
Feb 16: Jamshedpur C vs FC Pune City
Feb 17: Delhi Dynamos vs Bengaluru FC
Feb 18: FC Goa vs Kerala Blasters
Feb 20: NorthEast United vs FC Pune City
Feb 21: Bengaluru Fc vs FC Goa
Feb 22: ATK vs Mumbai City FC
Feb 23: Chennaiyin FC vs Jamshedpur FC
Feb 24: FC Pune City vs Delhi Dynamos
Feb 27: Jamshedpur FC vs Bengaluru FC
Feb 28: FC Goa vs Chennaiyin FC
March 1: Kerala Blasters vs NorthEast United
March 2: FC Pune City vs Mumbai City FC
March 3: ATK vs Delhi Dynamos