I-League 2017-18: Chennai City seek to get back to winning ways against bottom-placed Gokulam Kerala

Coimbatore: Chennai City would look to get back to winning ways after two goal-less stalemates when they face Gokulam Kerala in an I-League match at the JLN Stadium. Languishing at the bottom of the table, Gokulam Kerala have struggled to make a mark in I-League so far but will be hoping for a new beginning in Coimbatore. [caption id=“attachment_4311349” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Chennai City FC. Image courtes: Twitter @ChennaiCityFC[/caption] V Soundararajan’s young Chennai City caught the eye when they bettered Mohun Bagan in a feisty affair in Kolkata. Jean Micheal Joachim and Veniamin Shumeiko starred in that match but the head coach is planning for tactical changes against Gokulam Kerala. “Saturday’s match is very important for us. We don’t want to lose the match. We don’t want to draw the match. We want to win,” said Soundararajan.“Tactically, I will be changing the team. We played extremely well in all the matches, the results just did not happen for us.” Chennai City skipper Soosairaj has been in great form in the centre of midfield and will be the key to unlock the opposition defence consisting of tough tacklers Emmanuel Chigozie and Daniel Addo. The home side have also had the advantage of being able to field their foreign players regularly. Schumeiko has strengthened the Chennai defence and Gokulam’s new signing Mahmood Al-Ajmi will have a tough task on his hand to break open the sturdy backline. French striker Jean Micheal Joachim, another one of Chennai’s in-form foreign player, is their top scorer with five goals to his name so far. Bino George’s Gokulam, on the other hand, have been unfortunate with injuries. The foreign players, in particular, have missed regular minutes due to persistent injury troubles. Just like his counterpart, George will also be looking to alter his strategy against Chennai City. “Gokulam Kerala will have a different plan for Saturday. In all the games, we played really well but conceded sneaky goals. We are a new team and the squad is very young,” said George. “The team with good foreigners are doing well. Our foreign players got injured.