Goa: NorthEast United FC would be looking for a victory over Kerala Blasters FC and confirm their spot in the play-offs on Friday. With an eight-match unbeaten run, they are looking the most likely side to qualify.
The Highlanders have been in a rich source of form since Khalid Jamil took charge of the side from Gerad Nus. They have been unbeaten since he took the charge of the side and would be looking to make trumps over Kerala.
If they win today it would be the second time they would play the play-offs since the 2018-19 season and players like Deshorn Brown, Luis Machado, Federico Gallego are eyeing to make it happen for the Highlanders.
“They (Kerala Blasters) are a good team. They have talented players and so we will have to prepare. It will be a difficult game. We shouldn’t take this match lightly. We must fight,” said Jamil.
“We are not thinking about anything else. The preparations are the same. There are no changes in anything. The idea is to go there and give your best and have to be ready in all aspects,” he further added.
Kerala on the other hand are playing for pride. Another poor season in the banks for them and they again have to go back to the drawing board and begin with what went wrong this season.
They would look for a victory and end the season under their interim coach Ishfaq Ahmed and prepare for a strong comeback to the next season. “The matches are very similar to everyone. For us, we definitely want to win. They want to win. They have a little bit of extra pressure. For us, it’s another opportunity to sign off from the league on a high,” said Ahmed.
