Kerala Blasters and FC Goa, after poor starts to their respective seasons, finally look like teams who who know what their best XI is, and have something close to a structure, if their last couple of games was any evidence.

If it is any consolation, apart from defending champions Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos and NorthEast United, none of the other sides seem to have a set pattern to their play. After languishing at the bottom for all these weeks, the sides recently registered their first wins on the board.

Goa, who looked like a jaded outfit in their first three games, still have a lot left to prove if they harbour any ambitions of replicating their feats from last year. But, something changed in their previous game.

Zico set out a three-prong attacking line and it paid rich dividends for his side. It was not just Jofre who was pulling the strings in the final third. Like Leo Moura last year, Julio Cesar has shown plenty of promise in the couple of games he has featured so far, and was certainly one of Goa's best players during their win against Mumbai City FC on Friday.

Blasters are the fresher team going into the game as they play their first game after the space of a week. A win here would put them on par with Chennaiyin and Mumbai, who are third and fourth in the table. There has been an over-reliance on Michael Chopra to make things tick for Kerala, be it his goals or playmaking abilities. Facing the powerful Gregory Arnolin, the Englishman has his task cut out.

Match Facts

Venue: Fatorda Stadium, Goa

Capacity: 19,000

Time: 7 pm IST

Last meeting: 29 November 2015, Kerala Blasters 1-5 FC Goa, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi

Head-to-head: Matches: 4, Kerala wins: 1, Goa wins: 3

Key Battles

Jofre vs Sandhesh Jhingan

Both players are crucial to their sides' fortunes. Despite Goa and Blasters finding themselves at the bottom, Jofre and Jhingan have been in fine form.

The Indian defender is a powerful presence in the air and is a good reader of the game too. He also has a mistake in him. In Jofre, he meets a player who will inevitably find that pocket of space around the box, to take a shot or thread a pass. The Spaniard is the marginal favourite here.

Michael Chopra vs Gregory Arnolin

Lucio has been relegated to the bench this season and the French defender has been adequate as a leader at the back. Michael Chopra is an all-action footballer whose presence can seldom be taken out of the game. It is not just Gregory, the Gaurs need the help of their midfield to track Chopra's runs into the box.

Expected lineups:

FC Goa

Subashish Roy Choudhary; Gregory, Lucio, Raju Gaikwad; Keenan Almeida, Matheus Trindade, Pratesh Shirodkar, Richarlyson; Jofre, Julio Cesar, Robin Singh

Kerala Blasters

Sandip Nandy; Sandesh Jhingan, Cedric Hengbart, Aaron Hughes, Josu, Azrack Mahamet, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammd Rafique, Michael Chopra, Duckens Nazon, Mohammad Rafi