I League: Preview: Chennai focused to upset Aizawl in a 'must win' game

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Coimbatore, Feb 2: Ninth-placed Chennai City are all set to host defending champions Aizawl in a must-win Hero I-League match at the JLN Stadium on Saturday (February 3) at 3:00 PM.

Soundararajan's men have managed just two wins so far in the season but they have been improving continuously. Despite creating good chances, the team has not been able to get positive results.

"We had a lot of good chances (in the last game) but we didn't convert," said Soundararajan. "Psychologically, we have a little fear because of relegation. It is a must-win situation and even a draw will not do."

Chennai are winless in five games and their last match ended in a goalless draw, with Henry Mosang seeing red in the second half.

The last meeting between these two sides ended 2-0 in favour of Aizawl FC and Paulo Meneses is extremely confident ahead of a second meeting.

"Our confidence levels are always the same. We try to win three points in every game. We fight against every team, even in the AFC Champions League in the last match. We try to win," said Paulo Meneses, the head coach of the defending champions.

"It will be a very tough game. You can not look at the table. Chennai play good quality football," reckons Meneses who rotate his side once again after a difficult trip to Iran in mid-week for their AFC Champions League fixture.

Meanwhile, Aizawl FC have dished out a gallant display against Iranian superpower Zob Ahan in the AFC Champions League qualifier on January 27, 2018.

"In Champions League, we tried to change our plan a little bit. Here, we need to come back to reality and put our identity to practice."

Chennai's top scorer Jean Micheal Joachim is having a dry spell and needs to quickly get back to his scoring ways if Chennai are to gain points at home against a determined Aizawl side.

Aizawl are fifth in the standing, having played only 10 games so far. A win on Saturday will be the first step towards climbing towards top-four for Paulo Meneses and his boys.

Match Starts at 03:00 PM

Channels: Star Sports 2/2 HD

Live streaming on Hotstar and Jio TV