In-form Chennaiyin FC eye dominant southern derby win over Kerala Blasters

KOCHI: A fascinating southern rivalry is on the cards when Kerala Blasters take on Chennaiyin FC in an Indian Super League match here on Sunday.

The sides have played eight games each so far this season, with CFC placed fourth courtesy of three victories, while KBFC are ranked 10th, thanks to two wins and an equal number of draws.

Chennaiyin have scored 16 goals this season, their highest after eight meetings in any season. Also, CFC have averaged 25.3 touches per game inside the rival box in the ongoing campaign, presenting their merciless pursuit to hunt for breakthroughs.

The Marina Machans won their previous contest against the Blasters 1-0 this February, a commendable feat, considering they were winless in their last seven fixtures against the Tuskers.

If CFC win on Sunday, it would be the first time since 2019-20 for them to score successive victories against Kerala Blasters.

On the other hand, KBFC have netted in each of their previous 15 home matches. A strike in the upcoming match will equal the longest goal-scoring run at home by any side in the tournament's history alongside Bengaluru FC (January 2018 to March 2019), Chennaiyin FC (November 2016 to October 2018) and Delhi Dynamos (October 2015 to December 2016).

Kerala have also conceded the most penalties (5) this season, while Chennaiyin are trailing very close (4).

Ahead of the clash, KBFC head coach Mikael Stahre admitted that his side has some defensive issues.

"We have conceded too many goals (16) and we need to find a solution for that. But, it's not like we've conceded too many chances, so that helps, as it would have been worse had we conceded a lot of goal-scoring opportunities as well," Stahre spoke.

The two teams have met 22 times in the ISL, with the Tuskers and Marina Machans winning on six and seven occasions, respectively, while nine of those encounters have ended in a stalemate.

Kick-off: 7.30 pm IST.