Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], October 2 : Odisha FC will play host to Kerala Blasters FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 on Thursday at 7:30 pm.
Both of these teams have won once each in their three matches so far. While the Juggernauts bagged their first victory of the season by 2-1 against Jamshedpur FC last Saturday, Kerala Blasters FC drew 1-1 in front of NorthEast United FC in Guwahati and will hope to return to winning ways in this fixture.
Odisha FC tactician Sergio Lobera has won nine out of his 11 fixtures against Kerala Blasters FC, projecting an 82% success rate. This is his highest win percentage against any team he has squared off against at least five times in the ISL.
In this calendar year, Kerala Blasters FC have won only once in their eight games on the road in the competition. They have conceded goals in all of these matches, and it is surely a factor that head coach Mikael Stahre would want to correct in the coming clash.
Both these teams have played each other 23 times in the ISL, with Kerala Blasters FC having won nine games, and Odisha FC emerging victorious in seven encounters. Seven fixtures have resulted in a draw.
Odisha FC's Mourtada Fall has joined Sunil Chhetri and Bartholomew Ogbeche to become the player with the joint-most headed goals (18) in the ISL.
Kerala Blasters FC's Noah Sadaoui has scored four goals against Odisha FC, which is his highest tally against any single team in the competition.
Odisha FC's duo of Roy Krishna and Diego Mauricio has both scored seven goals against Kerala Blasters FC, which is the joint-highest by any player against the Kochi-based team.
In the opening three matchdays of the ISL 2024-25, Kerala Blasters FC's Pritam Kotal tops the charts of the players with the most interceptions in the league (10).