Jamshedpur FC look to get back to winning ways in East Bengal clash

Jamshedpur, October 4: Jamshedpur FC will face East Bengal FC in a high-octane Indian Super League match at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Saturday at 5 PM. Khalid Jamil’s men sit in third position in the ISL table with six points from three matches, while East Bengal FC have yet to secure a point this season.

After securing two spirited comeback wins in their opening league matches, Jamshedpur FC suffered a narrow defeat against Odisha FC in Bhubaneswar and will be aiming to bounce back.

“We haven’t been starting games well. Especially in the last match, we didn’t perform as expected. We need to fix this and get back on track,” said head coach Khalid Jamil.

East Bengal FC, after enduring their worst-ever start to the season, parted ways with head coach Carles Cuadrat. The club has appointed assistant coach Bino George as Interim Head Coach to lead the team against Jamshedpur FC, making this clash particularly interesting with two Indian coaches facing each other — a rare occasion in the ISL.

The Men of Steel are unbeaten in their last three fixtures against the Red & Gold Brigade, with their most recent meeting ending in a 2-1 win for Jamshedpur in February 2024.

“Each match is different, but as a team, we must take responsibility for what happens on the pitch. Playing at home, we need to secure a positive result, and I believe with the support of our fans, we can achieve that,” said Jamil.

Jamshedpur FC midfielder Mobashir Rahman expressed the team’s desire to repay the fans for their support: “We really want to give something back to them. Every game we win, we win for the fans. Whether we play at home or away, it’s all for making them happy. We’ll give our best in this game too.”

Tickets for the match are available at the Box Office located next to Gate No. 1 on Straight Mile Road at JRD Tata Sports Complex. They can also be booked online through Ticketgenie.in.

Head-to-head

Jamshedpur FC and East Bengal FC have met eight times in the ISL. The Men of Steel have triumphed on three occasions. On the other hand, East Bengal were the victors twice. Three fixtures ended in a draw.

Key Players and Milestones

• East Bengal skipper Cleiton Silva is the highest goal-scorer in this fixture with three goals. However, he is yet to register any goal contribution in his last four ISL appearances.

• Jamshedpur FC’s Jordan Murray has contested more than 10 duels in each of his last six appearances in the ISL, the longest active run in the league. Madih Talal, who currently plays for East Bengal, had a longer run of contesting more than 10 duels since the start of 2024 – nine games between February and April.

• East Bengal goalkeeper Debjit Majumder has registered 3.4 saves per game since the commencement of the 2023-24 edition. This is the highest such aggregate by any goalkeeper who has featured in at least five games. But, he secured only three clean-sheets during this tenure.

Jamshedpur FC unbeaten streak against East Bengal

• The Men of Steel haven’t lost in their last three fixtures against the Red & Gold Brigade. Their latest fixture ended in a 2-1 win over East Bengal in February 2024. However, Jamshedpur FC have never registered successive victories over the Kolkata giants in the ISL.

East Bengal FC’s seek to improve away record

• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, East Bengal FC have only won two away fixtures. Moreover, they have lost three of their last three away games. However, the Red & Gold Brigade have won one out of their two away games in Jamshedpur, a 3-1 victory back in November 2022.