{"id":33348,"date":"2020-11-17T20:27:04","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T14:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/?p=33348"},"modified":"2020-11-17T20:27:04","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T14:57:04","slug":"kerala-blasters-fc-season-preview-full-squad-fixtures-and-more-isl-2020-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/kerala-blasters-fc-season-preview-full-squad-fixtures-and-more-isl-2020-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Kerala Blasters FC season preview, full squad, fixtures and more: ISL 2020-21"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters have a history of falling short of glory in their short history, with the franchise finishing as runners-up on a couple of occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">With big money signings like Gary Hooper, Facundo Pereyra, Vicente Gomez, Costa Nhamoinesu and Bakary Kone, followed by arguably the best Indian roster in the league at Kibu Vicuna\u2019s disposal, the Blasters look a strong side on paper.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Kerala Blasters FC key players<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"><strong>Gary Hooper:<\/strong> The English centre-forward is one of the highest-paid overseas signings in the 2020\/21 <a href=\"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/category\/football\/football-competitions\/isl\/\">ISL<\/a> season. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gary_Hooper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gary Hooper<\/a> will spearhead <a href=\"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/tag\/kerala-blasters\/\">Kerala Blasters<\/a>&#8216; attacking line-up as the lone striker. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HOOP588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@HOOP588<\/a> \ud83e\udd1c\ud83e\udd1b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sahal_samad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@sahal_samad<\/a><br><br>The link-up we&#39;re all waiting to see \ud83e\udd29<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/YennumYellow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#YennumYellow<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N2GqscqGCB\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/N2GqscqGCB<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KeralaBlasters\/status\/1324957095892979712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">November 7, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">He has the experience of playing in various divisions in England and the A-League. Hooper scored nine goals and provided five assists in the 2019\/20 season for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">He has over 200 goals in 400 games, which is testament to his vast experience in competitive football, primarily in the British Isles. Hooper has already been scoring in the pre-season games and will be hoping to repeat the same when the ISL starts.<br \/><br \/><strong>Facundo Pereyra:<\/strong> The Argentine attacking midfielder arrives at the Indian Super League right from the Cypriot First Division. Facundo Pereyra boasts of vast experience in South American club football and has been part of the CONMEBOL Champions League on several occasions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">He has also played for some East European Clubs like PAOK Salonika, FK Qabala, and Racing Club. Pereyra is a creative genius and is expected to be highly effective in midfield. He will be partnered by Nongdamba Naorem and Rahul KP on either side, making Kerala Blasters a very strong side in the middle of the pitch. <br \/><br \/><strong>Vicente Gomez:<\/strong> Behind all the attacking prowess of Kerala Blasters, Spanish defensive midfielder Vicente Gomez will act as a sweeper and a blocker for Kibu Vicuna\u2019s side. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Gomez is yet another high profile purchase for Kerala Blasters. With the experience of playing for sides like UD Las Palmas, Deportivo La Coruna and AD Huracan in the recent past, Gomez will be a sturdy, experienced and valuable asset ahead of the defence for Kerala Blasters.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Kerala Blasters FC probable line-up<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Kibu Vicuna is expected to go with his tried and tested formula of a textbook 4-2-3-1 formation. Vicuna\u2019s single striker and two-blocker approach was highly successful in Mohun Bagan\u2019s 2019-20 I-League winning campaign. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">The Spaniard depends highly on a flooded midfield and hence, the results of Kerala Blasters games will depend on the midfield play of the Kochi-based side.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"><strong>(4-2-3-1):<\/strong> Albino Gomes (GK), Bakary Kone, Costa Nhamoinesu, Jessel Carneiro, Nishu Kumar, Jeakson Singh, Vicente Gomez, Facundo Pereyra, Rahul KP, Nongadamba Naorem, Gary Hooper<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"546\" src=\"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cf3607a3-b526-44a4-8266-65831e32a2f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cf3607a3-b526-44a4-8266-65831e32a2f8.jpg 480w, https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cf3607a3-b526-44a4-8266-65831e32a2f8-264x300.jpg 264w, https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cf3607a3-b526-44a4-8266-65831e32a2f8-150x171.jpg 150w, https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cf3607a3-b526-44a4-8266-65831e32a2f8-300x341.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Kerala Blasters FC full squad<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: bold;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Goalkeepers:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"> Albino Gomes, Bilal Khan, Muheet Khan, Prabhsukhan Gill<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: bold;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Defenders:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"> Abdul Hakku, Bakary Kone, Costa Nhamoinesu, Jessel Carneiro, Lalruatthara, Nishu Kumar, Sandeep Singh<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: bold;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Midfielders:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"> Arjun Jayaraj, Ayush Adhikari, Jeakson Singh, Vicente Gomez, Lathathanga Khwalhring, Givson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Prashanth Karuthadathkuni, Rahul KP, Ritwik Das, Rohit Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Seityasen Singh, Sergio Cidoncha, Yendrembam Denechandra<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Our new boys making themselves at home! \ud83d\ude04<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HOOP588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@HOOP588<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/costyy26?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@costyy26<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vicente4gomez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@vicente4gomez<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/YennumYellow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#YennumYellow<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n26stxjHlT\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/n26stxjHlT<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KeralaBlasters\/status\/1325425661574524929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">November 8, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: bold;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Forwards:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"> Facundo Pereyra, Gary Hooper, Jordan Murray, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Shaiborlang Kharpan<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: bold;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Head Coach:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #222222;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"> Kibu Vicuna<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Kerala Blasters FC fixtures (Till Round 10)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"><strong>20th November<\/strong> &#8211; Kerala Blasters vs ATK Mohun Bagan<br \/><strong>26th November<\/strong> &#8211; Kerala Blasters vs NorthEast United FC<br \/><strong>29th November<\/strong> &#8211; Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters<br \/><strong>06th December<\/strong> &#8211; FC Goa vs Kerala Blasters FC<br \/><strong>13th December<\/strong> &#8211; Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters FC<br \/><strong>20th December<\/strong> &#8211; Kerala Blasters FC vs SC Ast Bengal<br \/><strong>27th December<\/strong> &#8211; Kerala Blasters FC vs Hyderabad FC<br \/><strong>02nd January<\/strong> &#8211; Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters FC<br \/><strong>07th January<\/strong> &#8211; Kerala Blasters FC vs Odisha FC<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"><strong>10th January <\/strong>&#8211; Jamshedpur FC vs Kerala Blasters<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Kerala Blasters FC season prediction<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: 400;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\">Kerala Blasters have one of the strongest Indian rosters in the ISL, in addition to tonnes of experience in their foreign contingent across all the playing positions. Despite the absence of fans inside the stadiums, Kerala Blasters are expected to do well under the tutelage of Kibu Vicuna.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Kerala Blasters FC predicted finish: 4th<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/jamshedpur-fc-season-preview-full-squad-fixtures-and-more-isl-2020-21\/\">Jamshedpur FC season preview, full squad, fixtures and more: ISL 2020-21<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;font-family: Arial;color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-weight: bold;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: baseline\"><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kerala Blasters are expected to do well under Kibu Vicuna.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":33347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,22],"tags":[6257,4932,6195,6258],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyrosports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}