ISL 2020-21 LIVE, NEUFC vs CFC Live Score: NorthEast's Machado booked against Chennaiyin

This is Sportstar's ISL LIVE blog of the match between NorthEast United FC and Chennaiyin FC.

44' Both teams with equal spells of possession but haven't been able to fashion any meaningful chance.  Some poor final passes.

39' Another left footed drive from Edwin and this time it's straight at Gurmeet and manages to hold on to the ball.

38' Let off for Chennaiyin. Suhair sets up Sylla inside the box but the striker is closed down before he can get a shot away. Ball breaks to Machado and has his shot blocked as well.

36' Machado is booked for a foul on Edwin.

34' Chennaiyin hasn't been able to play the ball into the feet of Chhangte. The path has been blocked by Meetei and Ashutosh covering the channel.

32' Time for the water break.

29' Tangri is down after Camara's forearm catches his head while challenging for a header.

27' Pass played over the top down the right and Ninthoi Meetei manages to play in a low cross from the byline but Kaith dives low to collect it before it can get on to the feet of Sylla.

25' Jerry wins a challenge with Sylla and has plenty of time to pick out a teammate inside the box but he only finds Camara.

Chhangte and Fatkhullo have switched flanks for the time being.

22' Suhair is down on the ground after a coming together with Jerry. He is okay to continue now.

20' Foul against Machado for clipping Reagan's heel on a NEUFC counter attack.

17' Shout for a handball! Cross from the left by Fox and Lamblot has a free header in the six yard box which flicks the hand of Memo. Referee turns down the appeal.

16' NEUFC is piling on the pressure here now. Fourth corner already. Some nippy, passing play in the Chennaiyin half involving Lalengmawia, Sylla and Machado sets up Suhair on the left. His shot from distance takes a big deflection and goes behind goal.

14' Third corner for NEUFC and Fox rises high to get his head to the ball but can't keep it on target.

13' Suhair turns away from Tangri down the middle and plays in Machado to the left side. The winger's low cross is cut out by Sabia.

11' Sylla flicks the ball over Memo but Kaith rushes off his line and puts his fist through before the striker can get on to the ball.

It's a three man midfield for Chennaiyin with Edwin and Tangri shielding the back four. Germanpreet is playing further up the pitch in the no 10 role.

8' Chennaiyin has come out all guns blazing here. Good work from Jerry down the left again and squares it to Fathkullo inside the box which brings about another corner.

5' Jerry beats his man on the left and fired in a cross into the six yard box which amblot crucially intercepts. Corner for Chennaiyin. From the corner, Edwin fires in a eft-footed shot from outside the box which narrowly missed the far post!

Chhangte has made a brisk start to the game.

3' Corner for NEUFC and the ball is cleared out of danger.

1' CFC kicks off from right to left. Chhangte runs down to get on the end of the long ball between the centreback and the right back. The winger's left footed shot draws a save from Gurmeet.

4.52 pm: Both teams are out in the middle. Chennaiyin in its white away kit.

 

 

4.30 pm: Little under 30 minutes until kick-off. How well have you followed the 2020-21 season so far? Take our quiz to find out. QUIZ

 

4.20 pm: Three changes for NUEFC. Lalrempuia, Appiah, Rochharzela - OUT. Ninthoinganba Meetei, Idrissa Sylla, Lalengmawia - IN. NEUFC has its full compliment of seven overseas players in today's matchday squad.

 

4.13 pm: Thapa returns to the 20-man match squad. Skipper Rafael Crivellaro is dropped to the bench, keeping in mind his workload. Edwin Vanspaul gets his first start of the season. Laszlo could play him in a three-man midfield on the right side or use him as a right winger too. Edwin has played in the role during his time in the I-League with Chennai City FC. Memo Moura, also, gets his first start in the centre-back role alongside Eli Sabia. CFC has named only four foreigners in the starting XI. Esmael Goncalves and Enes Sipovic are ruled out with injuries.

4 pm: Line-ups are announced

NorthEast United FC XI (4-2-3-1)

Gurmeet Singh; Ashutosh Mehta, Benjamin Lambot, Dylan Fox, Gurjinder Kumar; Lalengmawia, Khassa Camara; Ninthoinganba Meetei, Suhair VP, Idrissa Sylla, Luis Machado

Chennaiyin FC XI (4-3-3)

Vishal Kaith; Reagan Singh, Eli Sabia, Memo Moura, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Edwin Vanspaul, Deepak Tangri, Germanpreet Singh; Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev, Lallianzuala Chhangte; Jakub Sylvestr

3.55 pm: Chennaiyin's Anirudh Thapa is back in full training. It remains to be seen if Csaba Laszlo will include him in the starting XI. Team news will be out in 5 minutes.

3.45 pm: Here's how the two teams could line up.

NorthEast United FC predicted XI (4-3-3)

Gurmeet Singh; Ashutosh Mehta, Benjamin Lambot, Dylan Fox, Gurjinder Kumar; Lalengmawia, Khassa Camara, Lalrempuia Fanai; Ninthoinganba Meetei, Kwesi Appiah, Luis Machado

Chennaiyin FC XI (4-2-3-1)

Vishal Kaith; Reagan Singh, Eli Sabia, Memo Moura, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri; Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev, Rafael Crivellaro, Lallianzuala Chhangte; Jakub Sylvestr

3.30 PM: Shyam Vasudevan and Aashin Prasad review the ups and downs of matchweek 3 of the Indian Super League on The Full Time Show.

MATCH PREVIEW

After two consecutive defeats, Chennaiyin FC (CFC) faces an uphill task to get its campaign back on track when it takes on an undefeated NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) at the Tilak Maidan here on Sunday.

Despite being the better team on the park on Wednesday, CFC lost 2-1 to Mumbai City FC thanks to some sloppy defending from set-pieces squandering a 1-0 lead.

With just four points from as many games, the former champion needs to find a way to capitalising on chances and get valuable points on board again.

However, coach Csaba Laszlo is not pressing the panic button yet saying, “We played good football but it is also about results. The season is very long. I don't want to talk about where we will end. Against Mumbai, we were unhappy after the game and, with a little luck, we can get better results.”

The team has not also been helped by injuries to some of its key players. Its two foreign signings Esmael Goncalves and Enes Sipovic are likely to miss a couple of games after picking up injuries in the last match. One silver lining though is Anirudh Thapa, who missed the previous game, is back at training and could start on Sunday to give some creative inspiration on the field.

In NorthEast, CFC faces a formidable opponent who has managed to eke out two clean sheets from five games and the joint highest-scorer with Mumbai City FC with eight goals so far.

Commenting on NEUFC, CFC coach Laszlo said, “They are a stable team. In offense, they have new players who have performed well. Generally, it's a team that can score goals against every opponent.”

NEUFC coach Gerard Nus though is not taking things for granted. “Chennaiyin is going to be a competitive team. We have seen the way they fight. In the last game (against Mumbai City), they did not get the result but, they created chances and were dangerous. We have to be ready for it,” Nus said on Saturday.

ISL 2020-21 points table

Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 here. Click here

The Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) will mark the return of major league competition in India after the nationwide lockdown to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak was first imposed in March.

The seventh edition of the ISL got underway inside a bio-bubble in Goa on November 20.

The tournament, spanning over four months, will see 11 teams play each other in a league and playoff format across three venues. Following SC East Bengal's inclusion, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.

 

ISL 2020 will be televised live at 5 pm IST on Star Sports and live streamed on Disney+Hotstar and Jio TV.