Odisha FC meets Bengaluru FC in the Kalinga Stadium for a rematch of the last edition’s Super Cup final.
ODI vs BEN Match Details
Date: Friday, 12 January 2024
Time: 19:30 (IST)
Venue: Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar
ODI vs BEN Match Preview
Odisha FC have witnessed a historical season by qualifying for the AFC Cup knockouts in their first attempt at the continental stage. They also remain in the hunt for the ISL Shield sitting in third with just two points separating them from the first place. Now, the Juggernauts involved themselves in the Super Cup defence, hosted on their soil, which made their Asian Cup dream a reality. Interestingly, Odisha FC starts Kalinga Super Cup 2024 against the very opponent they beat in the final in May last year. Sergio Lobera’s men were also involved in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Bengaluru FC from two goals down in the ISL outing at the Kalinga Stadium as well. The Kalinga Warriors have not lost a single game in any competition since then stitching up a massive 11-game unbeaten run and registering nine victories in that period. The chance for Odisha FC now to make a hat-trick of wins against the Blues to make an early claim for the top spot in a group also containing the heavyweights FC Goa and new I-League side Inter Kashi.
Bengaluru FC reached three cup finals last season including the Super Cup but managed to win only the Durand Cup in 2022. Nevertheless, it was a success story under Simon Grayson which the Blues failed to replicate this season leading to the sacking of their head coach. New appointment Gerard Zaragoza made an unbeaten start to his stint at the club in the two games he got. While the team secured only their second victory of the season in his first game in charge against Jamshedpur FC, a 1-0 triumph through a Javi Hernandez penalty, Zaragoza’s side needed a late equalizer from Sivasakhti Narayanan to rescue a 1-1 draw against NorthEast United in their final game of 2023. The lingering issue in the team remains which the Spaniard needs to sort out in the Super Cup campaign and without two of the club’s best players unavailable due to the Asian Cup. It will require a lot from them to come first in a potential ‘group of death’ with two high-flying ISL sides in it.
ODI vs BEN Recent Form
ODI: WWDWW
BEN: DWLLD
ODI vs BEN Team News
Odisha FC will have to deal with the absence of their first-choice keeper Amrinder Singh who has joined national team duties in the Asian Cup. Lalthuammawia Ralte is set to don the gloves in his place previously making an appearance in the Super Cup. The Juggernauts will field the striking duo of Diego Mauricio and Roy Krishna upfront once again with the former Bengaluru FC striker combining for 5 goals in the last four games. Lobera is expected to make only one change from their impressive 4-1 comeback victory over Jamshedpur FC with Mourtada Fall coming into the starting XI.
For Bengaluru FC, they will miss two of their crucial performers custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and skipper Sunil Chettri for the Asian Cup in Qatar. Amrit Gope and Sivasakhti Narayanan are likely to fill up the void. The Blues also have an injury crisis in defence with both foreign center-backs Aleksandar Jovanovic and Slavko Damjanovic carrying issues ahead of the tournament. Javi Hernandez will be the main creator for the side again having scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist in the previous edition of the Super Cup.
ODI vs BEN Predicted Lineups
Odisha FC:
Lalthuammawia Ralte; Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Carlos Delgado, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Princeton Rebello, Ahmed Jahouh, Puitea; Roy Krishna, Diego Mauricio, Isak Vanlalruatfela
Bengaluru FC:
Amrit Gope; Roshan Singh, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Slavko Damjanovic, Jessel Carneiro; Javi Hernandez, Keziah Vendrop, Harsh Patre, Halicharan Narzary; Ryan Williams, Sivasakhti Narayanan
ODI vs BEN Head-to-Head
Played - 15
ODI won - 6
Drawn - 1
BEN won - 8
ODI vs BEN Dream11 Team Prediction
Odisha FC are likely to pick up a victory against Bengaluru FC in the Super Cup once again to have an early advantage in the race for the top spot in Group D.
ODI vs BEN Dream11 Top picks
Captain Picks: Roy Krishna, Ahmed Jahouh
Vice-captain Picks: Javi Hernandez, Diego Mauricio
Others: Puitea, Ryan Williams
Our top pick for the ODI vs BEN Dream11 team is Roy Krishna who has scored 7 goals and provided 1 assist in 8 ISL appearances this season.
ODI vs BEN Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Ralte (6)
DEF: Ranawade (8), Fall (8.5), Roshan (8)
MID: Javi (9), Jahouh (8.5) Puitea (7.5), Narzary (7.5)
FW: Krishna (8.5), Mauricio (9), Williams (8)
Captain: Roy Krishna
Vice-captain: Ahmed Jahouh
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