Kerala Blasters target third straight win against NorthEast United FC

Kochi: Still languishing at the bottom half of the points table, Kerala Blasters will hope to pull themselves up a bit as they target a hat-trick of wins at home against NorthEast United FC in the Indian Super League here on Saturday.

Kerala Blasters are ninth in the table with 20 points from 16 matches, courtesy of six wins and two draws. They have won thrice and lost twice in their last five games.

A win on Saturday will push the Blasters up the pecking order in a tight table, while also extending their unbeaten home run against NorthEast United to nine matches.

NorthEast United have won their last two away matches and they have a chance to correct their disappointing run in Kochi thus far.

The Highlanders are fifth in the standings with 24 points from 16 matches and are unbeaten in their last five games. They are only three points behind the second-placed FC Goa (24) and could look to bridge that gap moving forward.

The Kerala side will be wary of their set-piece weaknesses. They have given away 13 goals from set-pieces this season, the most in the league.

With a striker like Alaaeddine Ajaraie in their ranks, the Highlanders could make Kerala Blasters pay for their weaknesses from set-pieces if the Kochi-based team does not improve in this aspect.

In the 21 matches the two sides have played each other in the ISL history, Kerala Blasters have won eight while NorthEast United have emerged victorious five times. Eight matches have ended in draws.

Kerala Blasters interim head coach TG Purushothaman stressed on the importance of teamwork.

"We play for each other. We believe in teamwork. We know how to deal with different situations and we will try to keep the positive results," he said.

NorthEast United head coach Juan Pedro Benali explained that his team will look to finish in the best possible position.

"Regardless of if we play home or away, we have to take points. Last few games, we could take only one point, but it’s better than nothing. Now we have to try and win as much as possible and finish in the best spot,” he said.