ISL 2022-23: League Shield and playoffs stake in focus as East Bengal FC hosts Hyderabad FC

Friday's Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 encounter between East Bengal FC and Hyderabad FC at Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan will have a lot of stakes. 

The Torch Bearers are now eighth-placed FC Goa with a game remaining, putting them eight points off a playoff spot. As one of the primary contenders for the League Shield, Hyderabad FC would seek to close the four-point deficit to league leaders Mumbai City FC.

However, had the Torch Bearers maintained their lead last week, as East Bengal FC have consistently failed to do during the season, the distance between them and the final playoff berth would have been less. The hosts took the lead in their previous matchup with Jamshedpur FC before the Red Miners scored twice and earned their first away victory of the year.

East Bengal FC hasn't been able to duplicate a comparable record at home despite having the sixth-best away record in the league. Their defeat last week became their seventh at home this year.

With nine goals in 13 games this season, Cleiton Silva leads the league in scoring with six goals in the last six games. To keep their chances of making the playoffs alive, the Brazilian must lead his team to their first-ever victory over Hyderabad FC in the Hero ISL.

"We have seven games left. Many of our games have been close encounters. We must continue to play and fight. At the start of the season, I said that this is a rebuilding project. You can't expect unbeaten streaks during such a project," said Constantine. "These are not excuses. These are facts. You cannot expect a team that has won one or two games in the last two seasons to win 15 games in the third season without making any changes," he added.

With six games remaining, Hyderabad FC are four points behind Mumbai City FC after squandering crucial points against Chennaiyin FC last week. Hyderabad FC would lose significant ground to the Islanders in the fight for the Hero ISL Shield if they took one more errant step.

Hyderabad FC are now unbeaten in six straight games despite having their winning streak snapped in their most recent match. During this run, the reigning champions also defeated their following foe 2-0 in the December rematch.

With four goals in his previous two outings, Bartholomew Ogbeche is on fire right now. Ogbeche will likely see opportunities from the flanks for Hyderabad FC as Halicharan Narzary, who missed the previous game, is expected to make a comeback.

"We are not playing our best football, but despite that, the team is difficult to beat. We have been organised so far. It will be a tough game because they have good players, including the league's top-scorer Cleiton Silva," said head coach Manolo Marquez. "Now we enter the decisive phase. We know that we will be in the playoffs. To try and win the Shield, we will have to be ambitious. Out of the six remaining games, four are against ATK, Kerala, Odisha and Mumbai," he added.

The two sides have faced each other five times in the Hero ISL. Hyderabad FC have won thrice, while two games have ended in draws. The defending champions have never done the season double over the Torch Bearers. 

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• East Bengal FC
• Hyderabad FC
• Indian Super League
• ISL 2022-23
• Football