KBFC’s strong defense has been a main factor in their long unbeaten streak, having kept five clean sheets and conceded just six goals in the last 10 games.
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Kerala Blasters will be aiming to get back to winning ways when they take on a struggling NorthEast United FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) fixture at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Friday. A resurgent Bengaluru FC ended KBFC’s 10-match unbeaten run with a 1-0 win in the last match. It was Ivan Vukomanovic’s side’s second defeat of the season, the first one was against ATK Mohun Bagan in the tournament opener. However, overall the season has been pretty good for the Blasters so far, having collected 20 points from 12 games and sitting at the third spot.
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— K e r a l a B l a s t e r s F C (@KeralaBlasters) February 4, 2022
KBFC’s strong defense has been a main factor in their long unbeaten streak. Vukomanovic’s side has kept five clean sheets in the season so far, which is the highest in the league. Goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill, who came in for injured Albino Gomez, is on top of the list of goalkeepers with the most number of clean sheets with four.
Central defender Mark Leskovic has been leading the defense alongside young Indian center-back Ruivah Hormipam, who is having a breakthrough season. Veteran right-back Harmanjot Khabra has been doing a fine job while left-back Nishu Kumar, who came in for injured Jessel Carneiro has given an extra dimension while going forward. The 24-year-old scored a sublime goal against Odisha FC.
Blasters have conceded just six goals in their last 10 games and conceded more than one goal in a game only once in those 10 matches. They are just six points adrift of the leaders Hyderabad FC, with two games in hand. Therefore Vukomanovic’s side would be hoping to get back to the summit of the standings with a couple of wins in the upcoming fixtures.
On the other hand, NEUFC have endured a wretched run so far, slipping to the bottom of the table with just 2 wins from 15 games. In the last match against Hyderabad FC, Khalid Jamil’s side suffered a 5-0 thrashing. In contrast to KBFC, NEUFC’s weak link has been their defense, they have kept just two clean sheets so far and conceded 10 goals in their last four matches.
Meanwhile goals-coring hasn’t been very great either, having netted just 18 times. Deshorn Brown who is their top scorer with six goals, hasn’t featured in the last four games and that is one of the primary reasons they struggle in front of goal.
