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The Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 will see Hyderabad FC playing hosts to Odisha FC at the G M C Balayogi Athletic Stadium on Monday as both sides are eyeing climbing up the league ladder to strengthen their positions in their respective first matches after the international break.
After a tough campaign last year, Hyderabad FC have shown increasingly encouraging signs by securing two victories and a draw in their seven matches thus far. Their seven points place them at the 11th spot and with the sixth-placed Punjab FC merely five points ahead (12) of them, the home team can begin thinking towards bridging the gap with the higher-ranked opponents, a release from the ISL said. Odisha FC, positioned ninth in the table, have nine points from eight games. Head coach Sergio Lobera has been amongst the most competitive tacticians in the competition regardless of the team that he has been at the helm of, and the Spaniard would hence want better results with consistent performances from the Juggernauts. This away fixture gives them the opportunity to begin maximising points in the encounters coming their way. Hyderabad FC believe in making early inroads into the opposition's defence, ensuring that they set the tone for the flow of the proceedings. This has resulted in them netting 43% of their goals in the opening 15 minutes of the matches in ISL 2024-25, with three out of their seven strikes so far coming in this phase of the game. Will they push Odisha FC back with an early breakthrough here too? Odisha FC have recorded eight sequences of 10+ open play passes per game in ISL 2024-25. This is the highest such average by any team and it clearly suggests that Hyderabad FC will have to strategise through which they can secure points despite not having possession for a large chunk of the game since Odisha FC prefer keeping the ball. Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto lauded the experience present in the Odisha FC ranks but insisted that his side is confident going into the match. "Odisha FC have a coach who has been a winner in Indian football. They have one of the most experienced batch of foreign players. We need to take on this game with great confidence and practice, which we have done," Singto was quoted in a release from ISL as saying. Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera demanded greater efficiency from his frontline but also assured that his team is on the right track and is uplifting their performances in certain key areas. "We need to be clinical in the final third. However, I'm happy with the recent performance of the team since we showed improvement in some areas that we needed to improve upon," Lobera said. The two teams have faced each other 10 times in the ISL. Hyderabad FC and Odisha FC have won four and five games respectively, and one match resulted in a draw. (ANI)
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