New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS): The Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 action resumes after the international break with an exciting encounter between two teams whose charts are on the upward trajectory with Punjab FC and NorthEast United FC locking horns at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.

Both these teams had narrowly missed out on qualifying for the playoffs last year, with the Highlanders finishing seventh and Punjab FC trailing them at eighth. However, they have turned a new chapter this time around – starting the season on a strong footing, with NorthEast United FC positioned third with 12 points thanks to three wins and as many draws from eight games.

Punjab FC, on the other hand, have secured four victories in six matches and claimed the sixth spot in the standings. They will hope to brush aside any rustiness after the two-week-long break and rejuvenate the campaign with similar vigour and vehemence come Saturday.

Punjab FC hold an unbeaten record over NorthEast United FC, winning and drawing once in their two matches against them. They had notched a 1-0 triumph over the Highlanders in their most recent fixture. A clean sheet in this match will see the Highlanders become only the second team after Hyderabad FC against whom Punjab FC will have back-to-back games without conceding a goal.

Speaking of clean sheets, a key factor swinging things in the favour of Punjab FC is that they have conceded the fewest shot attempts (65) and shots on target (20) in the current ISL campaign. Thereby, they have given away only seven goals in total, winning thrice in their previous five encounters.

NorthEast United FC have recorded the best differential between expected goals (11.95) and actual goals scored (19) in ISL 2024-25 (+7.05 xG value). Their 19 strikes after eight games are five more than their previous-best tally after these many matches (14 in 2018-19). At the heart of all of this has been Alaaeddine Ajaraie, who has scored 11 goals and made four assists in eight appearances.

The Highlanders stand at an unprecedented stage right now, since they have netted multiple goals in each of their previous three ISL matches. However, they have never scored 2+ strikes in four straight-away encounters in the competition’s history – something that they can achieve tomorrow if their frontline comes to the fore perfectly tomorrow.

Punjab FC head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis said his team is going into the match with significant preparation and added that they have all the players ready and fit for the game. “We know how we should work and we have done it in the previous days with a lot of concentration and focus to adjust ourselves to the demands of the next game. We have managed. We have all the players ready for this match,” Dilmperis said in the pre-match conference.

NorthEast United FC head coach Juan Pedro Benali said his team is getting used to overcoming difficult situations and mentioned that they aim to maintain control over large chunks of the game. “We are learning. We are getting used to winning points in difficult situations. We hope that we don’t stop at the 65-70-minute mark, which is why we have scored so many goals late into the game. A football match is a collection of a lot of small games and we need to control most of them,” Benali said.