Chennaiyin faces Churchill Brothers in Super Cup group match

CHENNAI: After making a winning start to its Super Cup campaign, Chennaiyin FC will face Churchill Brothers FC in its second Group D match at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri on Saturday.

Two-time Indian Super League champion Chennaiyin began the Super Cup with a 4-2 victory over NorthEast United FC and will be brimming with confidence while Churchill Brothers heads into the match on the back of a 1-2 defeat to Mumbai City FC.

Speaking ahead of the fixture that will kick-off at 5 pm IST, CFC head coach Thomas Brdaric said: “It (Churchill Brothers) has some good players. It has some abilities that we need to understand closely. We should not let it execute its plans by doing good work in defence. We have to be strict on that.”

While the attack, led by brace-scorer Rahim Ali, fired on all cylinders against NorthEast, the defence, despite goalkeeper Samik Mitra’s brilliance, looked shaky and conceded two goals. Brdaric stressed that Chennaiyin would have to step up its game defensively if it is to inch closer to the semi-finals.

“It is important to play to our strengths. We have to understand that we need to defend better. We have to play our game. We want to win and make a difference, that is the focus,” added the German.

Chennaiyin could have only four foreigners in the matchday squad as attacking midfielder Nasser El Khayati is down with a niggle. Nasser, who was sidelined for a while during the ISL Season 9, had missed the win over NorthEast last week. Striker Petar Sliskovic is yet to link up with the squad and is likely to miss the entire tournament after undergoing surgery.