Goa Itching to Claw Back Against Resurgent Pune

Pune, Dec 10 (PTI) A resurgent FC Pune City will look to continue their winning momentum and stay alive in the competition when they clash with FC Goa in an Indian Super league fixture here Tuesday.

Pune, who made it to the play-offs last season, received a morale boost when they beat Kerala Blasters FC in the previous clash but their chances of qualifying for the play-offs are hanging by a thread with eight points from 11 games.

The hosts now face a trial by fire against a well-rested FC Goa, who are placed at the fourth spot with 17 points.

"FC Goa were top scorers last season and the way they are set up to play, they score a lot of goals. They are an attacking team. We've to deal with their threat and at the same time, we have to pose a threat," said Pune interim coach Pradyum Reddy.

"Sometimes putting the other team on the backfoot is the best way to defend."

Reddy should know how dangerous FC Goa can be. When he took over from Miguel Angel Portugal, FC Goa were the first team he faced and his side was clobbered 2-4 at Fatorda.

It was a painful defeat, but since then, Pune have made some progress.

They will have to be wary of the rampaging Gaurs, particularly since their defence isn't the tightest. They have faced the most shots on goal (197) and have kept only one clean sheet.

And they have two of their left-backs unavailable, with Sahil Panwar suspended and Lalchhuanmawia sick.

The coach will want his forwards to find some much-needed form. Marcelinho, who scored the match winner against Kerala, has only two strikes to his name which is his poorest season by far in the ISL.

FC Goa returns to action after 12 days and coach Sergio Lobera will expect a response from his side as they haven't won their previous two games. They suffered a 2-1 defeat at home against Bengaluru FC which was followed by a goalless draw in Kolkata.

"The game (against Pune) won't be easy by any stretch. They won their last match and will have confidence. We haven't played for quite a while and for us, it is about getting back to our ways," said assistant coach Jesus Tato.

Despite having played nine matches, which is at least one game less than all others, Goa are still in the top four with 17 points.

The good news is that Hugo Boumous and Mohamed Ali, who were suspended, are back in contention for a place in the starting line-up.

All eyes will be on star striker Ferran Corominas, who has eight goals this season, but hasn't found the back of the net in over 250 minutes of football.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)