ISL 2020-21: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Odisha FC prediction, preview, team news and more
ATK Mohun Bagan take on Odisha FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Thursday evening, as Antonio Lopez Habas's team look to continue their perfect start to the season.
Bagan have won their opening two games of the season. A 1-0 triumph against Kerala Blasters in the opening game was followed by a 2-0 victory in the Kolkata Derby last Friday.
Having retained the bulk of last year's title-winning ATK squad, Habas's side have stuck to their philosophy from last season. They haven't conceded a single goal yet while allowing Roy Krishna to do what he does best upfront.
Odisha have not had the happiest of starts to the season under new head coach Stuart Baxter. But they will take heart from the second-half performance against Jamshedpur FC in their last game.
They were 2-0 down at half-time, but substitute Diego Mauricio turned the game for Odisha, eventually scoring a candidate for goal of the season to level the scores.
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Odisha FC Head-to-Head
Since this is ATK Mohun Bagan's first season in the ISL as the merged entity, all past ISL records have not been carried forward to this club.
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Odisha FC Team News
Michael Soosairaj is obviously missing for the rest of the season. That aside, Habas really doesn't have too many problems with his squad at the moment.
Habas is expected to keep the starting XI that beat SC East Bengal in their last game, unless there are last-minute concerns over any of the players' fitness.
For Odisha FC, Baxter is still trying to find the correct combination. The likes of Marcelinho have not yet clicked in the way that Baxter would have liked him to.
Mauricio could come in from the start in this game in place of Laishram Premjit Singh. Either Cole Alexander or Jacob Tratt is expected to make way for Mauricio in order for Odisha to maintain their balance of foreigners.
ATK Mohun Bagan vs. Odisha FC Predicted XI
ATK Mohun Bagan Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Arindam Bhattacharya; Pritam Kotal, Tiri, Sandesh Jhingan; Prabir Das, Jayesh Rane, Carl McHugh, Subhasish Bose; Javi Hernandez; David Williams, Roy Krishna
Odisha FC Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Kamaljit Singh; Shubham Sarangi, Steven Taylor, Gaurav Bora, Hendry Antonay; Cole Alexander, Saurabh Meher; Nandhakumar Sekar, Marcelinho, Diego Mauricio; Manuel Onwu
ATK Mohun Bagan vs. Odisha FC Prediction
We are looking at another typical ATK Mohun Bagan performance, where they would be happy to give up possession to Odisha. But with their defense and the threat of Krishna, it is difficult not to call a win for them.
Prediction: ATK Mohun Bagan 2-0 Odisha FC