Kerala Blasters Vs Hyderabad FC Prediction: Both teams are having a bad phase

Kerala Blasters will host Hyderabad FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi in the Indian Super League for game week 8. Both teams are having a bad phase in the tournament. Who will be the winner after 90 minutes?

Red cards and penalty decisions, successive mishaps have taken a toll on the form of the Yellow Army. A game-changing penalty that followed by a sending-off resulted in the painful loss to Mumbai City FC.

Hyderabad FC has had their own set of problems, most importantly at the attack. Not converting chances into a goal has limited their advance and allowed easy counterattacks against them. This would suit Kerala, who have managed to keep discipline and structure in defense. In this scenario, however, Kerala has to switch and play more aggressively as this is going to be the golden opportunity to break Hyderabad's defensive line.

Jesus Jimenez will be the man to watch for Kerala Blasters as Kwame Peprah is suspended. As the team's top scorer, his ability to find the back of the net and create opportunities will be key. To win the game, the Blasters must press hard and maintain possession, thereby capitalizing on Hyderabad's weaknesses and getting a vital win.

S. Kumar (GK); H. Ruivah, P. Kotal, A. Coeff; S. Singh, D. Farooq, V. Mohanan, N. Singh; K. Rahul, J. Jiménez; A. Luna

Hyderabad FC looked promising at the start of the season but has let that promise slip away and has been in some significant trouble lately. The beatdown by Mohun Bagan was a rude reminder of their weaknesses, in particular, in the attack, where they have utterly failed to make a significant impact.

The main deficiency of Hyderabad lies in only scoring five goals from the six matches it played so far. Creating fair enough chances, lack of finishing and poor choice of shot by the players were their downsides. Much has depended on individual brilliance on attack lines rather than playing cohesive teams together, which meant a spotty result.

The team's forwards, such as Bartholomew Ogbeche and Javier Siverio, have not been able to hold consistency. Though the midfield player Joe Goddard has been active and created many opportunities, it is the lack of a sure finisher that has lacked Hyderabad's efforts to turn their created opportunities into an advantage.

They must start taking more efficiency in front of the goal and trying to score better chances with some quality finishing. The co-ordination and combination play also needs to be improved in breaking into the well-organised defense lines. Unless these change, Nizams will fail to live up to the potential this season.

Jongte (GK) ; Srivas, Sapic, Saji, Rafi, Andrei, Issac, Ramlunchhunga, Goddard, Rabeeh, Allan Paulista.

One side enters this game with defensive frailties, and the other has not been able to capitalize on its attacking chances. Traditionally, these two teams have played some close games. In their last five matches, Kerala Blasters have won three and Hyderabad FC have won two, with one match going to a penalty shootout.

Goals have not been many in these matches, with only one game having over two: Kerala's 3-1 win, which is also the largest margin of victory in the head-to-head matches. Kerala Blasters start as favorites while Hyderabad FC are the underdogs.