Milan Singh is ruled out of Delhi Dynamos FC away game at Balewadi stadium due to four yellow cards received. FC Pune City defence will have to deal with one threat less on the left flank from the attacking midfielder, packing power in his boots.
The Manipuri, who scored with a rocket-like left-footer into the roof of the net against Atletico de Kolkata in the Hero ISL tie, also picked up a yellow.
Gianluca Zambrotta who chose to be careful with words also confirmed Milan’s non-availability.
“Pune has got good quality, play close and defend well. We have a tough match ahead.”
DD had showcased the depth in the squad against ATK, pulling off a draw with 10 men, clawing back to draw level twice.
Zambrotta felt the morale in the squad will be useful in the reminder of the tournament. “The mentality in the team, the positive energy was the gain from the ATK match.”
The visitors lead the table with 17 points, almost in range of a top four finish.
“At the moment, we are in a good position, but a long way from the playoffs.”
Influential presence Florent Malouda remains an influential presence with playmaking and crucial goals. Even without stunning goals from Milan, Delhi Dynamos will be hot to handle due to its offensive ability (18 goals and 59 shots on target).
Marcelo Pereira (five goals in 10 matches) is the joint top-scorer.
Richard Gadze has three goals from 12 shots on target in eight games.
The problem before Antonio Habas is to get FCPC strikers discover goal-scoring ability somehow.
“We want to score more goals and work 100 per cent in practise to improve, but it is difficult,” he said, adding:
“I would like the team to score every day, but we don’t have these kind of players.”
Jonathan Luca, Jesus Tao, Anibal Rodriquez have disappointed.
Habas is looking at cutting down on errors to force victories.
Goal difference “Teams which concede less mistakes will advance, at this stage in the league, more than teams scoring more goals. The goal difference between sides is plus or minus two.”
The tie at Balewadi stadium against Zambrotta’s squad is Pune City’s concluding league tie in front of the orange-clad home fans.
“We want to give our fans a good experience,” noted Habas.
FCPC desperately needs three points to come within playoff range.
