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Isco has been frozen out by head coach Solari, with the Spain international yet to start a LaLiga match since Julen Lopetegui was sacked in October. The 26-year-old – linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu – was an unused substitute in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie. Former Madrid midfielder Ruben de la Red said the club do not wait for anyone and Isco must perform to the standards of his team-mates, drawing a response from the Spaniard on Twitter....

Both teams have undergone changes with regards to their squads, but the basic objective remains the same: to start off the campaign with a win. While Atletico de Kolkata have released most of their Indian players, Chennaiyin have done the opposite and let go of their foreign recruits. As such, with new faces and new tactics in place, one wonders how the teams will go about executing their plans....

The ‘Marina Arena’ in Chennai gets ready to host its first match as defending champions Chennaiyin FC play host to the Delhi Dynamos in match six of the 2016 Indian Super League. The match will see a clash between two Italian World Cup winners in Marco Materazzi and Gianluca Zambrotta, winners together in 2006, but now opposing managers in the dugout for Chennaiyin and Delhi respectively. Here’s a look ahead to likely team lineups for match six....

Also Read: Mumbai City FC manager Alexandre Guimaraes impressed by team’s Indian players ahead of first game The home team, who won the ISL opener on Saturday against Kerala Blasters, prepares to play a tougher opponent in a span of less than 72 hours. Their coach Nelo Vindaga has pointed this out saying that Goa has fresh legs which might make things a little advantageous for them while most of the Highlander players are yet to recover....

Although many Goa fans might still not have gotten over the heartbreaking loss to Chennaiyin FC on their home turf, the Blues can still keep their head up on what they have produced throughout the course of the season. Although they endured heavy defeats against an inform Atletico De Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC, the Gaurs were in the driver’s seat for much of the season. Zico must be hailed for the tactical changes he made at the time his team were lagging behind, with the results clearly showing the impact....

The India No.1 had been shown a straight red card after his off-the-ball incident with FC Goa’s Manuel Lanzarote in Bengaluru FC’s 4-3 loss at the Gaurs’ home-ground on November 30. The decision to ban the former Stabaek FC custodian was conveyed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Disciplinary Committee. Based on the match official’s report, the 25-year-old was found guilty of breaching AIFF Disciplinary Code Article 49 for misconduct against an opponent player....

The 34-year-old isn’t new to the league, having previously played for FC Pune City in the 2015 edition of the tournament. During his stint in Pune, he had notched up 4 goals in 11 appearances. The former Super Eagles forward last represented Spanish second division side, UD Almeria. The striker, who kicked off his professional career in Nigeria for Enyimba International, has represented the likes of Levante, Espanyol in Spanish La Liga and Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1....

The Highlanders are in dire need of turning their fortunes around and seem to be eyeing a former I-League manager as a possible replacement for their former head coach Joao De Deus, who was sacked earlier this week. Now, the NEUFC management is said to be eyeing a high-profile former I-League coach as a possible replacement for De Deus, according to sources. The club wasn’t ready to formally announce the name of the said coach as some official paperwork needed to be sorted out before the coach could be announced....

This time around, the IMG-Reliance backed league is coming in a bigger and glitzier avatar. It is no more the eight-team affair we have seen in the preceding three years. The introduction of Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC into the league has already left fans drooling at the prospect of seeing how a longer and more structured league pans out. But perhaps the most curious among the changes is the fact that the ISL fixtures, which will play out over a period of four months, have largely moved to prime-time slots....

“I probably took more pleasure from not conceding today. It was a great result. But we need to keep clean sheets every week. The best teams who do this are teams who keep clean sheets. Defensively, our boys were brilliant.” After succumbing to a 3-2 defeat in the hands of FC Goa in the first game of the season, the Chennai squad made sure they made no defensive errors in their first home game of the season....

#1 Cagey opening between two well-drilled sides Tonight’s match was eerily similar to the opening two games of the Indian Super League. Pune and Delhi came into this match not wanting to lose, and it was evident in their gameplay. For the opening 25 minutes, both sides refused to commit numbers in attack. When players had the opportunity to run into space, they chose to play parallel passes or play it back....

“I agreed to the challenge and I am hitting the ground running. India is a new and exciting environment for football and I look forward to the pace of the League. I have confidence in the club and we will do all we can to take the club forward,” said Grant, who is a long-time friend of NorthEast United FC owner John Abraham. Grant moved to England in 2006 to become Technical Director of Portsmouth before being appointed Director of football at Chelsea in July 2007 and steered the team into the Champions League final and the League Cup final....

In case you didn’t know… Cesar Farias is a Venezuelan manager, who was at the helm of the Northeast United FC back in the second season of the ISL and helped them finish at the fifth spot in the league. Farias has managed the Venezuelan national team as well as the Venezuela U20 team. He is currently the manager of The Strongest, a club from Bolivia. The heart of the matter Northeast United FC have been struggling in the ISL so far, having won just one game in the seven matches that they played....

“First of all, I reassure the players that we are in an ongoing process as far as the team is developing. If you look at our progress putting FC Goa aside, we are getting positive going forward. We are creating chances and hopefully can continue to score goals,” he said ahead of his side’s clash with Chennaiyin FC on Friday. The former Manchester United coach reiterated the importance of defence with his side having conceded the least amount of goals (six) so far in the league....

The state-of-the-art Aspire Academy has played host to numerous top European clubs for its training facilities ever since its foundation in 2004. It’s highly sought after residential programme will now play host to a Dynamos starlet for the next four months. Making the trip to the Middle East will be Delhi’s most recent acquisition, Shubham Sarangi. The 17-year-old forward was signed by the national capital-based outfit at the onset of the newly introduced January transfer window of the ISL....

In case you didn’t know… CK Vineeth is one of the most popular players in the Blasters camp, something that is accentuated the fact that he is a local from the state itself. The Kerala Blasters faithful have shown their adulation for him over the course of the four seasons, and Vineeth, in return, has given them some brilliant performances. The heart of the matter Vineeth, who has had a son recently, decided not to designate any particular religion for the child....

In case you didn’t know… Johnson began his career at the Middlesbrough academy where he eventually signed his first professional contract. He went on to make his first-team debut in 2008 against Chelsea. Later on, he plied his trade at Tranmere Rovers and Northampton town before he joined Bengaluru FC in 2013. Last year, there were reports, that the Englishman was planning to move out of the club citing ‘personal reasons’....

In case you didn’t know… Delhi fans will be excited by their latest foreign signing, Andrija Kaluderovic. The Serbian striker has delivered goals wherever he has played. The 31-year-old started his career with local club OFK Beograd, with who he was attached for five years. In those five years, Kaluderovic went out on five loan spells which helped him develop his overall game. The Serbian left Beograd in 2009 and for the next nine years, travelled the whole world....

Mumbai took a leaf out of Jose’s playbook and put it to good use against a team which loves to play possession-based football. “I am privileged to work with someone like Jose Mourinho, Carlos Queiroz and others early on in my career and that has helped me a lot,” said the Portuguese gaffer of Mumbai City FC regarding his tenure with Mourinho. He also went on to explain that having worked with such legendary figures has helped him learn a lot in football, and also learn what not to do in football....