Bambolim: With only a point in their kitty from six games, Odisha FC (OFC) will be desperate to turn their fortunes around when they face NorthEast United (NEUFC) in the ISL game here Tuesday.
The Bhubaneswar-based side are lying at the bottom of the table having suffered five defeats this season – the most in the ISL. They will face stiff challenge from fourth-placed NEUFC, who will be aiming to bounce back after witnessing their unbeaten run end in the previous game.
Odisha will need to find form soon, having struggled in both attack and defense. They have conceded nine goals with seven of the goals scored against them coming in the first half. In attack, Stuart Baxter’s men have scored the joint-lowest goals (3) and created the least number of chances (42).
In such a situation Odisha will have to keep a tight watch on NEUFC forwards Idrissa Sylla and Kwesi Appiah. Both have scored two goals in the tourney so far.
‘NEUFC have got quite a few players who are quick. They play back to front quickly and get the ball to their strikers, so we need to defend as a team,” Baxter said on the eve of the match here Monday.
“Whatever solutions we’re planning will be as a team, it won’t be based on an individual marking a man closely. It will be about giving each other support and making sure we shove them into the spaces where we can manage them,” he added.