Goa, April 5: FC Goa will host Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda in the second leg of their Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 semi-final fixture on April 6, at 7:30 pm IST.
The Blues clinched a comfortable 2-0 victory in the previous game and the Gaurs will have to overcome that deficit to find a place in the finals.
Bengaluru FC have won their last two playoffs games without conceding though, posing a significant challenge to the Manolo Marquez-coached side.
Yet, the visitors have suffered defeats in their last two visits to Goa, including a goalless outing in their most recent trip. If they FC are unable to find the back of the net in this encounter, FC Goa will become only the third team against whom the Blues fail to score against in consecutive away games in the ISL.
FC Goa’s Playoffs Challenge
* Playoffs Record: FC Goa are currently on a three-game losing streak in the playoffs, which is their joint longest in ISL history. A defeat here would mark their worst run in the knockouts, something that they would look to avoid
* Goalkeeping Certainty: Hrithik Tiwari has been a standout performer between the sticks for the Gaurs this season, recording seven clean sheets. His 51 saves this campaign are the most by an FC Goa custodian in a single ISL campaign.
Bengaluru FC’s Current Form
* Defensive Solidity: Banking on solid defensive form, another shutout could not only play a part in extending Bengaluru FC’s winning streak in the knockout stage to three games, equalling their best run between March 2019 and 2020, but also put them firmly in the driver’s seat to reach the final.
* Goals Galore: Having scored 47 goals this season, Bengaluru FC are on the brink of becoming only the fourth team in ISL history to breach the 50-goal mark in a single season – a feat shared like FC Goa (2019-20), Mumbai City FC (2022-23), and Mohun Bagan Super Giant (2023-24).
Head-to-Head
The two sides have played each other 18 times in the ISL, with FC Goa and Bengaluru FC winning five and eight matches respectively. Five games have produced draws.
Coach’s Corner
“We are confident we can arrive into the finals”
FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez is of the belief that his team will enter the final.
“The past and statistics are not important right now. We are confident that we can get into the finals,” he said.
“It’s important to be brave”
Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza reiterated that the focus is to qualify for the summit clash.
“It’s important to be brave and to look to score, but the most important part is to win the game,” he said.
Key Players & Milestones
* Bengaluru FC’s Rahul Bheke’s 116 clearances this season are the most by any Indian and second overall. His 16 clearances in the first leg were the most by any player this season and also the highest ever by a Bengaluru player in a single ISL match.
* FC Goa’s Brison Fernandes has netted three goals from outside the box this season, which is the joint-most by a Goa player in a single campaign, level with Noah Sadaoui (2022-23). The 23-year-old has netted seven times and assisted twice so far this campaign.
* Bengaluru FC’s Gurpreet Singh Sandhu registered his eighth clean sheet of the season in the first leg, with only Vishal Kaith (14) having kept more of them in 2024-25.
ISL Fantasy
Odei Onaindia (5.8cr)
The FC Goa player has earned the most ISL fantasy points (120) in his team this season
Rahul Bheke (4.9cr)
The Bengaluru FC player has bagged the highest ISL fantasy points (154) in his side this year
The Indian Super League semi-finals are being streamed live on JioHotstar (English, Hindi, Bengali, and Malayalam) and telecast live on Star Sports – 3 (English, Hindi, Bengali, and Malayalam), Asianet Plus (Malayalam).