AIFF Media Team

MANJERI: Defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC will face Rajasthan United FC at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri, in the second Hero I-League 2022-23 match of the day on Monday, December 12, 2022.

After a winless run of three games away, Gokulam Kerala bounced back with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Sudeva Delhi at home in their previous fixture. They will be eager to build upward and make it three home wins out of three, which will be crucial given the fact that Rajasthan United have the same number of points as them in the league standings.

The Desert Warriors will be no pushovers though, heading into the match on the back of a four-game unbeaten run. Their away form so far has been creditable – two wins and a draw in four matches – and they will be hungry to get their third win on the road and move closer to the top of the points table.

Last season, both sides faced off twice – starting with a 1-1 draw, followed by a 1-0 win for the Malabarians in the Championship Phase.

At the pre-match press conference, Gokulam head coach Richard Towa stated a victory will be crucial for his team. He said, “This will be our second match at home since playing away and we won in our previous game. We want to continue the winning run as we want to challenge for the title. Rajasthan are a very good team and against them, we have to play at our real level to get the three points and make our fans happy. It will be a match between two very good teams and the most important thing is to win.”

Defender Vikas said, “I am happy to be a part of the line-up and the whole team is working hard. We will give a tough fight to Rajasthan and want to win. We are strong technically and tactically, and want to keep going forward game by game and work on our plans.”

Rajasthan United head coach Pushpender Kundu said, “We are taking Gokulam very seriously. They are the defending champions, and they have done very well in the last match.

However, Kundu felt that the presence of players from Kerala in the Rajasthan squad could be an advantage for the Desert Warriors. “Gokulam are a tough team, but we also have a few players who are from Kerala, and are used to the conditions here. I believe that will be an advantage for us. Our boys are quite motivated and are playing well in the last few matches. We will try to get better results and climb to the top of the table.”

Rajasthan midfielder Britto PM, who himself hails from Kerala, echoed his coach’s words.

“I am very happy to be back here in Kerala. This is my home, and I am very motivated to play well for my team here. We have a lot of Kerala players in our team, and they are all motivating the boys,” he said.

The match between Gokulam Kerala FC and Rajasthan United FC will kick off at 7 PM IST, and will be broadcast live on Eurosport and Doordarshan Sports, and streamed live on the Discovery Plus OTT platform.