Chennai: For once will Delhi Dynamos will hope that their rich history against the ‘Marina Machans’ help them revive their season that looks a lost cause after six defeats in seven encounters. The Lions have defeated Chennaiyin four times in the last six meetings yet their campaign this season has been a mile apart from the rest.
A massive 13 points and seven sides separate the two teams and while Chennaiyin has been on an unbeaten run of three games, Delhi has lost all of their matches barring their first one, a win against Pune.
Despite their coach Miguel Angel Portugal constantly praising his boys for their good possession based football, the ‘Lions’ main problem has been in key two areas he feels – ‘defence and attack.’ “We have conceded too many cheap goals. Our set piece defending has failed us a number of times,” said the Spaniard at the pre-match conference.
Captain and ace striker Kalu Ulche is still not fit to start and while he may come in as a substitue, Claudio Matías Mirabaje will miss the match after receiving a suspension of three matches following his scuffle with Sehnaj Singh in the Mumbai City match.
Chennaiyin on the other hand began with a loss to Goa at home, but since then has gone on to remain unbeaten on home soil for the last three fixtures and will look to continue their winning momentum after defeating Jamshedpur in the away fixture.
Given the run they have been in recent times, they are an automatic choice for the favourites tag but assistant coach Syed Sabir Pasha, who will preside against Delhi in the absence of head coach John Gregory refused to take Delhi lightly.
“Delhi will be a great test for us. We have defended as a team so far and we know they will come at us looking for a win. And we have to counter that,” he said.
A win can once again take the ‘Marina Machans’ back to the top but Delhi will hope for an upset that can lift their confidence if not their position.