Kerala Blasters face East Bengal in the opening game of the Indian Super League 2022-23 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 7. The match will start at 7:30 PM IST (Indian Standard Time).
Kerala Blasters finished fourth in the ISL last season with 34 points in 20 games. After reaching the playoffs, the Tuskers beat the Shield winners, Jamshedpur FC, to reach the finals last season. The Blasters lost in penalties to Hyderabad FC in the summit clash after the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Blasters have retained a significant core of their players for this season and would be keen to turn things around. The Tuskers lost 3-0 to Mohammedan in the quarter-finals of the Durand Cup 2022 in their most recent outing.
On the other hand, East Bengal finished on the bottom in the previous ISL season, having won just one of their 20 matches. The visitors also failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Durand Cup after a poor outing in the group stage of the tournament.
Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal Indian Super League 2022-23 odds
Bet365 odds: Kerala Blasters: 1.59, East Bengal: 5.80, Draw: 3.95
Betwinner odds: Kerala Blasters: 1.58, East Bengal: 5.00, Draw: 3.92
Betway odds: Kerala Blasters: 1.57, East Bengal: 5.03, Draw: 3.90
10CRIC odds: Kerala Blasters: 1.61, East Bengal: 5.01, Draw: 3.89
Note: Odds are subject to change. Please visit betting sites to check and confirm the latest odds.
Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal head-to-head and current form
Kerala Blasters have a marginal lead over East Bengal in the head-to-head, having won one and drawn three of their four encounters so far.
The Blasters have won two of their last five ISL fixtures while East Bengal have lost four of their previous five games.
Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal Indian Super League League 2022-23 squads
Kerala Blasters: Prabhsukhan Gill (goalkeeper), Muheet Shabir (goalkeeper), Sachin Suresh (goalkeepers), Neeshu Kumar, Sandeep Singh, Bijoy V, Harmanjot Khabra, Marko Leskovic, Victor Mongil, Jessel Carneiro (captain), Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Puitea, Adrian Luna, Dimitrios Diamantakos, Rahul KP, Sreekutan MS
East Bengal: Tuhin Das (goalkeeper) Naveen Kumar (goalkeeper), Kamaljit Singh (goalkeeper), Pritam Singh, Mohammad Rakip, Ankit Mukherjee, Charalampos Kyriakou, Ivan Gonzalez, Lalchungnunga, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Aniket Jadhav, Jordan O’Doherty, Souvik Chakrabarti, VP Suhair; Cleiton Silva, Sumeet Passi. Himanshu Jangra, Semboi Haokip.
Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal probable starting lineups
Kerala Blasters: Prabhsukhan Gill (goalkeeper), Harmanjot Khabra, Marko Leskovic, Victor Mongil, Jessel Carneiro (captain), Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Puitea, Adrian Luna, Dimitrios Diamantakos, Rahul KP.
East Bengal: Kamaljit Singh (goalkeeper); Charalampos Kyriakou, Ivan Gonzalez, Lalchungnunga, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Aniket Jadhav, Jordan O’Doherty, Souvik Chakrabarti, VP Suhair, Cleiton Silva (captain), Sumeet Passi.
Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal combined fantasy XI Indian Super League 2022-23
Kamaljit Singh (goalkeeper), Marko Leskovic, Victor Mongil, Jessel Carneiro, Charalampos Kyriakou, Ivan Gonzalez, Adrian Luna, Cleiton Silva, Sumeet Passi, Dimitrios Diamantakos, Rahul KP.
Kerala Blasters top picks vs East Bengal Indian Super League 2022-23
Dimitrios Diamantakos: The Greek footballer will be making his maiden appearance in the ISL this season having previously represented Ashdod in the 2021-22 Israeli Premier League. Diamantakos had a poor season with the Israeli outfit but scored 19 goals for FC St. Pauli during his time in the 2. Bundesliga.
Rahul KP: The right-winger was one of the core players retained by the Blasters ahead of the new season. The 22-year-old was impressive in his seven games last season, contributing one goal and two assists. His only goal last season came against Hyderabad FC in the finals. Rahul has scored five goals for the Blasters in ISL and is one of the most exciting young players going around in the Indian football circuit.
East Bengal top picks vs Kerala Blasters Indian Super League 2022-23
Sumeet Passi: East Bengal’s new signing this season, Sumeet Passi rendered his services to Punjab in the I-League for nearly two seasons. Before moving to the I-League in 2021, Passi was a part of Jamshedpur FC in the ISL. The 27-year-old contributed three goals and one assist for the Red Miners in his three-year stint.
Cleiton Silva: The 35-year-old Brazilian footballer was a part of Bengaluru FC for two seasons and netted 16 goals for them in the ISL. He also scored three goals in just five appearances in the 2021 AFC Cup. Silva contributed nine goals and three assists in the ISL last season and was one of the top performers for the Blues.
Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal Indian Super League 2022-23 prediction
Kerala Blasters are a much stronger side and are expected to beat East Bengal comfortably in the opening game of the season. The Blasters have also done well historically against the visitors and are likely to continue their unbeaten streak against them.
East Bengal had a torrid season last time and lack the firepower this time as well to beat the Tuskers.