After a horror start to the season, the defending champions have struggled to recover from a bad run of form after the mid-season break. The dawn of the new year did bring out some positive results for the defending champions. However, the season has not at all gone according to plan for John Gregory and his men.

The Marina Machans have only managed to win two games so far this season and have lost a staggering number of twelve games. For a side in such a bad form, the senior players must lead from example but have failed majorly bar a few good performances.

The trusted veteran duo of Inigo Calderon and Mailson Alves haven’t sustained their resoluteness from last season and have only managed to register two clean sheets this season which is the lowest in the league and a reflection of just how poorly their defence has performed.

The Mizo Sniper; Jeje Lalpekhlua has also failed to reach the heights of last season and hence is not among the top scorers in the league. When a team concedes a lot of goals, the pressure is on the strikers to score compounds and Jeje hasn’t managed to relieve the pressure on his side for a majority of games.

The squad has underperformed but it’s not short of quality and on their day, Chennaiyin FC can beat even one of the best teams in the league like they did against Bengaluru FC. The Marina Machans registered a 2 -1 victory over the table toppers at home with Jeje Lalpekhlua and Gregory Nelson getting in on the scoresheet.

The Men of Steel still have some hope of making it to the play-offs and must win the two remaining games to put up some fight for the fourth spot if the likes of NorthEast United or Mumbai City FC do slip up. All this makes the clash against Chennai a must-watch!