ISL League Winners Shield champions Jamshedpur FC are in the mood to repeat their trick in the new season starting with a victory against Odisha FC.
The Red Miners finished top of the table five points ahead of ISL title winners Hyderabad FC to claim the prize but Odisha FC suffered another underwhelming campaign by finishing seventh.
JFC vs OFC Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Time: 19:30 (IST)
Venue: JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur
JFC vs OFC Match Preview
Jamshedpur FC displayed an outstanding show last season in winning the League Winners Shield ahead of some prime runners for the top spot. It was a difficult battle with quality squads of finalists Kerala Blasters and champions Hyderabad FC but when others fell at the crucial moment the Men of Steel showed nerves of steel to secure the summit. JFC only lost three games last season, scored the second-most goals in the league and had the best defense among others by conceding only 21 goals. The 13 wins are the most they ever managed in their six years in ISL. All of the good things were achieved under manager Owen Coyle who decided not to stay with the club for the third season and instead return back to Scottish football to manage Queen’s Park from June this year. A title-winning coach is difficult for any side to adjust as a bonding is shattered but new coach Aidy Boothroyd wants to find new formulas with the champion squad to carry forward the legacy. The Englishman might not have the same portfolio as Owen Coyle but has managed sides like Watford, Coventry and Northampton along with various age levels, other than the senior team, for England. Jamshedpur FC are optimistic for the new campaign keeping the core of the group from last season intact with adding more depth in certain positions. Potential based Indian players like Sk Sahil and Germanpreet Singh with experienced Pratik Chaudhari and Rakshit Dagar joined. The star foreign striker arrival of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas should keep the scoring numbers high as last season while the leadership of Peter Hartley at the back and TP Rehenesh should keep the opposition quiet. Starting with a victory will be a nice way to show the strength of the squad in front of their home support for the first time after two years against an opposition they have found easy to beat in recent meetings.
Odisha FC’s disappointing streak of not making it into the playoffs continued after they finished seventh on the league table collecting only 23 points, an 11-point gap from the top four places. They also conceded joint-most goals in the league and suffered 9 losses. In the season prior, the Juggernauts not going by their name finished rock-bottom with only two wins to their name incurring 12 losses. It is safe to say Odisha FC are one of the few teams to have found the bio-bubble environment difficult to thrive. Not only that the franchise seemed to be suffering from a lack of direction in their method of setting targets in the league. Back-to-back mediocre seasons has forced the club to reshape the squad and the management again in a bid to improve finally. With normalcy returning and fans back in the stadium, Odisha FC have to do well otherwise this time the pressure will be unbearable if things remain the same. Josep Gombau, the coach who managed the side before in the 2019/20 season after Delhi Dynamos was rebranded with his initial appointment for the franchise coming in 2018, has been appointed again to steady the ship for the Kalinga Warriors. The Spaniard had a decent season coming close to playoff qualification. With a familiar figure in the dugout, OFC should seize all opportunities to turn things around also noted by some noteworthy signings like Amrinder Singh or La Liga experience holders Victor Rodriguez and Carlos Delgado. Keeping the likes of Diego Mauricio in attack with ISL campaigners Narender Gehlot and Raynier Fernandes in attack, Odisha FC definitely could dream about better things to come. The start of that journey will be a difficult trip to Jamshedpur having not won a single game in the meeting on the road. The dull mood will soon change if they manage a win in the season opener and silence the home crowd.
JFC vs OFC Team News
Both teams have a fully fit squad available to them with new signings set to make their debut in the ISL. Even under new manager Aidy Boothroyd, Jamshedpur will be consistent in selecting the players that formed the stem of the Shield-winning success last season. Other than the new arrival of Wellington Priori, the rest of the starting lineup for this game will be of similar choice as the old regime under Owen Coyle. Odisha FC will look at their summer recruits to deliver results this season.
JFC vs OFC Predicted Lineups
JFC: TP Rehenesh; Laldinliana Renthlei, Eli Sabia, Peter Hartley, Ricky Lallawmawma; Jitendra Singh, Wellington Priori; Seiminlen Doungel, Farukh Choudhary, Ritwik Das; Daniel Chima Chukwu
OFC: Amrinder Singh; Lalruatthara, Narender Gehlot, Carlos Delgado, Sahil Panwar; Issac Vanmalsawma, Raynier Fernandes, Osama Malik, Victor Rodriguez; Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Diego Mauricio, Nanda Kumar
JFC vs OFC Head to Head
Odisha FC suffered two catastrophic results in the doubleheader against Jamshedpur FC last season with the last meeting ending in a crushing 5-1 loss while the other one a 4-0. Greg Stewart, now of Mumbai City FC, scored a hat trick in this fixture played last year and delivered two assists in the next one. The Juggernauts carry a four-game barren run against the Steelers with the only victory coming against them in 2019 at home.
JFC vs OFC Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Rehenesh (8.5)
DEF: Lalruatthara (8.5), Hartley (9), Ricky (8.5), S Panwar (8.5)
MID: Vanmalsawma (8.5), R Fernandes (8), V Rodriguez (8), R Kumar (8.5)
FW: Mauricio (8.5), Chima (9)
Captain: Daniel Chima
Vice-captain: Diego Mauricio
