Delhi, Kerala seek upward momentum in ISL (Preview)

Delhi Dynamos would seek to strengthen their position in the Indian Super League (ISL) football standings with a win against Kerala Blasters here on Friday.

Delhi are approaching the match after snapping a five-match winless sequence, including a hat-trick of draws, with a 2-0 victory over struggling FC Goa.

That win propelled Delhi to a healthy third in the standings with 10 points from seven matches, two behind leaders Atletico de Kolkata.

But the worrying factor for Delhi coach Italian Gianluca Zambrotta would be his team's inability to win too many of the seven matches they have played so far, managing to emerge victorious only twice.

The team's struggle to converted chances in some matches have been too apparent.

Zambrotta's side showed signs of solving the problem in their last match against Goa and they would expect to continue in the same vein of form on Friday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

They would be hope to be guided by influential marquee player Florent Malouda, whose work ethic and ability to maintain balance between attack and defence have been the highlight of his team's game.

Striker Marcelinho, with four goals, has benefitted from Malouda's services the most though ideally Zambrotta would like others to step up to the occasion and contribute goals to the team's cause.

Delhi's opponents have similar problems, with a five-match winless streak of their own that they would be desperate to end.

They are four three spots behind Delhi in the points table with nine points after seven matches, having experienced a chequered form in the tournament under British coach Steve Coppell, also securing only two victories thus far.

Their most recent performance, a drab 0-0 draw against title holders Chennaiyin FC, also did nothing to inspire much confidence, firing blanks in front of the goal.

Memories of a dull goalless draw between the two teams would be fresh in both coach's minds, which could urge them to more more offensive minded than normal as another draw won't serve the ultimate purpose -- semi-final qualification -- of either teams much.

--IANS

sam/dg