Matchday 7 kicks off tonight as Odisha FC locks horns with Bengaluru FC.
In this thread, we will be covering 5 fixtures of Matchday 7 (of 11) from 17th to 20th December
ISL Matchday-7 Fixtures
Previous matches:
Mumbai City continues to top the table of the ISL Standings and share the same points with ATK Mohun Bagan only with better goal difference.
Odisha FC who have struggled so far will be facing Bengaluru FC who are yet to see a defeat. Odisha FC has gone goalless in 4 of its 5 games this season, while Bengaluru FC couldn’t score a goal only against Hyderabad FC.
Stuart Baxter’s men have just one point so far - (LLLDL). On the other hand, Bengaluru FC are 4th on the table with 9 points and an unbeaten record in the tournament - (WDWDD).
Baxter’s side averages just 2.4 shots on target per match so far and the Englishman stressed the need for his side to be more attacking in nature.
Odisha’s defence has conceded 7 goals so far, four of which have been from set-pieces (3 penalties and 1 free-kick). They have conceded a goal in almost every match.
Bengaluru have scored their goals from set-pieces so far, including three from throw-ins, and will look to exploit Odisha’s vulnerability in this regard. They are also high on confidence, coming off a huge win against Kerala Blasters, in which Cleiton Silva and Sunil Chhetri managed to find the net.
Can Odisha FC look to turn around their fortunes against in-form Bengaluru FC?
Goals from Chhetri and Silva give Bengaluru FC a 2-1 win over Odisha FC.
Bengaluru FC have their advantage back! Cleiton Silva fires home his third goal of the season!
Chhetri’s third goal of the season makes Bengaluru FC the first team to reach double digit goals in ISL 2020-21.
Odisha played well but Bangalore held their nerves for win.
Six unbeaten matches for Bengaluru. Odisha’s winless start continues. BFC moves 3rd after the win, while Odisha remains 10th after its 5th defeat.
Bengaluru FC came out on top against a dogged Odisha FC side at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim. Carles Cuadrat’s side took the lead through skipper Sunil Chhetri’s sensational header in the opening half. But with 19 minutes remaining, Steven Taylor equalised for the hosts from a set-piece. However, the 2018-19 Hero ISL champions dug deep with Cleiton Silva netting the decisive strike to seal a second straight win for the Blues.
Highlights - Odisha FC 1-2 Bengaluru FC - Match 31
Post-match Presentation - Odisha FC 1-2 Bengaluru FC - Match 31
NorthEast United will take on Jamshedpur FC tonight at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa.
The two teams have met each other 6 times in the ISL and 5 of their fixtures have ended in a draw while Jamshedpur have the only won which came in 2018 at their home.
NorthEast are one of the 3 unbeaten teams in the league this year but have won just twice in six games this season - DDWDDW
Jamshedpur have won just one game of their six matches this season - DDWDDL. Currently they sit on 7th place on the standing and they will be looking to secure a win to move to a possible top-four spot.
Meanwhile, a huge win could push NEUFC to the top.
Will the Highlanders settle the scores or will the Red Miners extend their lead?
Jamshedpur FC pick up their 2nd win of the season! A hard-fought win for JFC keeps their unbeaten streak vs NEUFC intact.
Aniket Jadhav scored the only goal of the match as TP Rehenesh saved a penalty to help Jamshedpur FC beat NorthEast United FC 1-0.
Both sides were unable to break the deadlock in the first half as they managed to cancel out each other’s threat. As a result, only 2 shots on target were registered in total.
JFC 1-0 NEUFC
More or less expected result. After a win against ATKMB, JFC was actually in good touch.
Jamshedpur started with 4-3-3 formation which was not that effective because camara was screening valskis and Jacky very well.
Although the left flank of Jamshedpur was very much mobile with Isac and ricky. Aniket was also moving well through the middle.
For free kicks the clear tactics was to find Eje and Hartley to use their physical presence.
In second half the formation changed to 4-2-3-1 bringing Jacky back to middle at withdrawal position. From direct long ball play to passing game this change actually make them to go through. Jacky again assisted here. Beautiful goal.
Speaking about NEUFC, if you cannot score from penalty it’s going to be a hard game. Defensively played well attacking was more of a direct play. Ninthoi was moving well but holding ball for long time is no good in modern football. 2 defender fox and lambort played really well. After substitution of apiah with machado build up play was happening but sylla was off colour completely.
Once again for NEUFC the team is good but the target men need to find their scoring boots. Loosing chances like that leeds the team loosing the game.
Jackichand Singh receives the DHL Winning Pass of the Match for racking up his third assist of the season.
Peter Hartley gets the Hero of the Match award for yet another solid performance at the heart of JFC defence.
Nerijus Valskis, who has scored the most number of goals (6) this season so far along with FC Goa’s Igor Angulo, did not manage to find the back of the net against NorthEast United.
Blank. 
It was an occasion to celebrate as the Tilak Maidan Stadium hosted the milestone 500th match of Hero ISL with NorthEast United FC facing off against Jamshedpur FC. The Highlanders were looking to protect their unbeaten start to the season but found themselves trailing to Aniket Jadhav’s instinctive finish just eight minutes after the restart. Idrissa Sylla had the chance to restore parity in NEUJFC but his penalty was saved by TP Rehenesh. 1-0 it ended in favour of Owen Coyle’s side who extended their unbeaten run to six matches this season!
Enjoy the highlights!
After a setback against ATK Mohun Bagan in the previous match, FC Goa will be looking to earn 3 points against Chennaiyin FC.
With the likes of Igor Angulo, who has been in terrific form, they have a good chance of beating Chennaiyin FC, which has won just one match in the competition so far.
FC Goa on 7th place but with today’s win they have a chance to climb 3 spots on the ISL points table to reach the 4th place. Chennaiyn have a much tougher road ahead with currently on 8th spot and just 5 points.
Matches this Season
Chennaiyin FC: DLLDW
FC Goa: LWWDLD
Overall head-to-head form ( Wins - CFC: 7, FCG: 9 | Draws: 1)
Goals Scored:
Chennaiyin FC: 26
FC Goa: 39
Topscorers
Ferran Corominas (FCG) 5
John Stiven (CFC) 4
Joffre Gonzalez (FCG) 3
Mourtada Fall (FCG) 3
Clean sheets:
Chennaiyin FC: 4
FC Goa: 3
Can Csaba Laszlo’s side keep the Gaurs at bay?
CFC will draw inspiration from their performances against FC Goa last season, especially the 4-1 semi-final first leg victory at home in Chennai. The game also comes on the eve of the anniversary of CFC’s inaugural ISL title triumph in the very same stadium, a stunning 3-2 victory in the final on 20th December 2015 against the hosts FC Goa.
Goa though have the better head-to-head record, winning 9 of the 17 games between both teams in the ISL, with CFC victorious in 7 of the remaining matches and only one being a draw. The encounter also promises to be a goal-laden affair, with a whopping average of almost four goals (3.88) being scored in games between CFC and Goa.
Rahim Ali’s second-half strike yields Chennaiyin FC a well-deserved 2nd victory of the season!
In a game that saw 39 shots at goal, Rahim Ali (53’) scored the match-winner after Jorge Ortiz (9’) cancelled out Rafael Crivellaro’s (5’) olympic-goal opener.
Chennaiyin displayed attacking prowess in the first half and should have been up by two or more goals. But a couple of missed sitters from Crivellaro and Lallianzuala Chhangte along with Nawaz’s brilliance in the Goa goal saw the scores remain level.
Chennaiyin finally got their deserved lead in the 53rd minute when Crivellaro kept his composure in beating Donachie before playing a low cross at the far post where second-half substitute Rahim Ali had little work to tap the ball into empty net.
Had Chhangte scored with the opportunities he had in this game, he should have nearly completed his hat-trick by now.
