Chennaiyin FC will be looking for their third away win of the Indian Super League 2024-25 season when they travel to New Delhi to take on Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Thursday.
The Marina Machans are unbeaten on the road this season, with two wins and one draw from their three away games.
Owen Coyle’s team enters the match following a 2-2 draw with FC Goa at home. A victory against Punjab could propel them to third place in the standings. Although the coach is mindful of Punjab’s strong start to the season-they have won three out of four games, with their only loss coming away to Bengaluru FC in their latest game-he is confident that his side can maintain their momentum and deliver another impressive away performance.
“It’s certainly going to be a tough game, one we’re looking forward to. We feel aggrieved to have lost a game in Delhi against Punjab last year. We scored three good goals which were all ruled out. That being said, we never played as well as we could but we were always a goal threat. So what we want to do is carry our good form into another tough away game, but we have done well on our travels this year and we want to do that again. We want to make sure that we are at our best,” Coyle, who recently extended his contract with CFC until 2026, told the media during the pre-match press conference.
One player aiming to continue his good start to the season is Farukh Choudhary. Following his goal-scoring exploits for India, the forward joined Coyle for the press conference, before lavishing praise on his head coach for supporting and guiding him.
“Last year, there were times when my decision-making was not that great. But, he (Coyle) has always been there to guide me; even after the games, when we had our recovery sessions, he would call upon me and guide me, especially when it came to finishing. I was in a hurry always, I would always go for power, but he told me you just need to put the ball in the sides. All those things helped me a lot. But, I think I can improve a lot more when we get the ball, when we attack, and be more clinical in front of the goal,” Farukh said.
Laldinliana Renthlei will be back available after a one-game suspension. Jiteshwor Singh will travel with the team to New Delhi after recovering from an injury, confirmed the head coach, while Ankit Mukherjee will continue with his rehabilitation.
