Match Preview 

NorthEast United vs Kerala Blasters will be a tough battle. As both of the teams are coming back from a 4-2 defeat with their respective teams. As both NorthEast and Kerala Blasters will be looking to overcome their opening day defeats and get off to a winning start. The teams are set to face each other at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on 25 Nov.

NorthEast United vs Kerala Blasters Match Details

Date- 25/11/2021
Time- 7:30 PM
Where to watch- Disney+ Hotstar VIP, Star Sports Network, and JioTV
Venue- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Goa, India

Team News:

NorthEast United-

Khalid Jamil's NorthEast United had high expectations to get off to a flying start. However, the experienced squad of Bengaluru FC had other plans. NorthEast came back twice to level the score in the first half; but the inexperienced players at the back cost them heavily, as they let in four goals past them. So they will be all ready to overcome their defeat against Kerala Blasters.

Kerala Blasters-

The Tuskers also had a heartbreaking start in their opening game as they were defeated 4-2 by ATK Mohun Bagan. The Blasters showed a lack of composure and proper defensive abilities. However, they managed to score 2 back but this all was in vain compared to ATKMB's 4 goals. Kerala Blasters are hopeful to recover from that defeat and get their season up and running against the Highlanders.

NorthEast United vs Kerala Blasters Head-to-Head

Matches- 14
NorthEast United- 4
Kerala Blasters- 5
Draw- 5

Possible Line-ups-

NorthEast United: Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (GK) (C); Provat Lakra, Jestin George, Hernan Santana, Tondonba Singh; Khassa Camara, Federico Gallego, Sehnaj Singh; William Lalnunfela, Deshorn Brown, VP Suhair

Kerala Blasters: Albino Gomes (GK); Sandeep Singh, Enes Sipovic, Abdul Hakku, Jessel Carneiro (C); Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Adrian Luna; Lucas Vazquez, Jorge Pereyra Diaz

NorthEast United vs Kerala Blasters Dream11 Prediction

On a vibrant Saturday evening, April 26, 2025, Mohun Bagan SG’s youthful squad clinched a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Kerala Blasters FC in the Kalinga Super Cup 2025 quarter-finals, securing their spot in the semi-finals.

The Mariners, boasting an all-Indian lineup save for Portuguese defender Nuno Reis, showcased their attacking flair with goals from Sahal Abdul Samad in the 22nd minute and Suhail Ahmad Bhat in the 51st. Despite a late strike from Kerala Blasters’ Sreekuttan MS in the 94th minute, Mohun Bagan SG held firm, thanks to a stellar performance by goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem. Bastab Roy’s team now awaits the winner of the FC Goa vs. Punjab FC clash in the semi-final on April 30.

The match kicked off cautiously, with both sides probing without overcommitting. For the first 20 minutes, neither team managed to create clear chances. Then, Mohun Bagan SG sparked the game to life with a moment of brilliance.

Salahudheen Adnan dazzled down the right, weaving past Naocha Singh before delivering a pinpoint cross into the box. Sahal Abdul Samad, with a deft shoulder drop, shook off Ruivah Hormipam and delicately lifted the ball over goalkeeper Sachin Suresh to break the deadlock.

The goal jolted Kerala Blasters into action, and they pushed hard for an equaliser. Noah Sadaoui, fresh off a spectacular long-range goal against East Bengal, tried his luck from distance but sent the ball straight to Dheeraj Singh.

Read Also | India expresses formal interest to host the AFC Asian Cup 2031

The Blasters grew threatening from set pieces, particularly short corners. In the 30th minute, Sadaoui’s low cross after a quick one-two with Vibin Mohanan was cleared by Dippendu Biswas. Moments later, Hormipam’s looping cross nearly sneaked into the top corner, only for Dheeraj to tip it over.

Just before halftime, Mohammed Aimen cut in from the left and unleashed a curling shot that sailed narrowly over the bar, leaving the Blasters frustrated.

The second half began with Mohun Bagan SG striking early. In the 47th minute, Sachin Suresh pulled off a stunning save to deny Salahudheen in a one-on-one, but the warning went unheeded. Four minutes later, Ashique Kuruniyan tore down the left, breezed past Hormipam, and rolled a precise pass to Suhail Ahmad Bhat, who calmly slotted it home to double the lead.

From there, the game became the Dheeraj Singh show. Kerala Blasters threw everything forward, but the Mohun Bagan goalkeeper stood tall. Jesús Jiménez squandered two golden opportunities, blasting over the bar in the 65th minute and dragging a shot wide two minutes later. In the 70th minute, Dheeraj denied substitute Kwame Peprah’s angled effort, and with five minutes left, Peprah’s low cross found Jiménez, who couldn’t connect cleanly.

Read Also | Will Indian-Origin players ever get to play for India? AIFF keeps showing its aimless approach

Dheeraj’s heroics continued as he thwarted Peprah from point-blank range, with Amandeep clearing Ebindas Y’s follow-up off the line. The Blasters finally broke through in stoppage time when Jiménez set up Sreekuttan, who rifled a shot past Dheeraj. But the goal came too late to spark a comeback.

Salahudheen Adnan earned the Kalinga Player of the Match award for his electrifying performance.

Kerala Blasters FC started their Kalinga Super Cup 2025 on a high note by knocking out defending champions East Bengal by 2-0 in Bhubaneshwar on Sunday. Noah Sadaoui and Jesús Jiménez scored the goals for the Kerala Blasters as they outplayed the Kolkata side. 

With this defeat, East Bengal FC's season ended on a sad note after an overwhelming finish in the Indian Super League 2024-25. 

Kerala Blasters march on! 💥⚽

A dominant 2-0 win over East Bengal seals their spot in the Super 8. Next stop: a high-voltage clash against Mohun Bagan!#KBFC #BlastersOnTheRise #Super8Bound #keralablasters #SuperCup #mohunbagan #EastBengal #Indianfootball #Footballindia pic.twitter.com/ISfwWWWKly

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) April 20, 2025

Jesús Jiménez opened the scoring for Kerala as he found the back of the net from a penalty in the 40th minute of the match. In the second half, Noah Sadaoui extended the lead for the Manjapadas in the 64th minute to hand them an easy win. 

Blasters looked threatening from the word go as Jesus nearly scored from Noah's delivery in the second minute of the game. They kept on applying the pressure, but could not find the end result despite a few chances created by Noah. 

Noah Sadaoui's banger from outside the box in Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal FC match in Kalinga Super Cup 2025. pic.twitter.com/uWjrbpLMDZ

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) April 20, 2025

But it wasn't until the 40th minute that Jesus Jimenez stepped up to take the penalty after Gill made a foul inside the box. 

In the 64th minute, Noah scored a screamer of a goal to extend the lead, which was eventually good enough for them to qualify for the quarter-finals. 

Kerala Blasters will now face Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the quarter-final on 26th April. For those who do not know, Mohun Bagan SG will play from the quarter-final directly after they received a bye in the round of 16. 

"Today, the team showed me that they still have something inside, and they wanted to compete and do their best. I’m proud of them cuz the work they’ve done is amazing. We’ll have to see about Luna. He felt that it wasn’t good and asked for a change. We’ll see," Balsters' coach David Catala said after the win. 

The Kalinga Super Cup 2025 has undergone significant schedule adjustments following the withdrawal of Churchill Brothers FC Goa. The Round of 16 match against Mohun Bagan SG, originally set for an 8 PM IST kick-off on April 20, has been cancelled.

As a result, Mohun Bagan SG will advance directly with a bye.

Mohun Bagan SG, who recently clinched both the ISL 2024-25 Shield and Cup, will now face the winners of the rescheduled Round of 16 match between Kerala Blasters FC and East Bengal FC in the quarter-finals on April 26.

The Kerala Blasters FC vs. East Bengal FC clash has been moved to an 8 PM IST kick-off on April 20, 2025, ensuring the tournament progresses smoothly despite the unexpected withdrawal.

Here is the new schedule of the Kalinga Super Cup 2025

Here are the updated fixtures of the #KalingaSuperCup 🗓️#IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/TsAIFUKvEP

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) April 18, 2025

Hello and welcome to another live coverage of Indian football as we continue bringing you all the live updates of Indian Super League following the conclusion of the March international window.

The ISL 2024-25 Playoffs have marked its beginning on March 29, with an emphatic 5-0 victory by Bengaluru FC over Mumbai City FC in the first knockout match.

Read Also | ISL 2024-25 Playoffs Fixtures and Format: Everything you need to know

Tonight, we will bring you all the live updates, news, and live scores of the highly intense Knockout 2 encounter between NorthEast United FC and Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong.

NorthEast and Jamshedpur both finished the league stage with 38 points from 24 games. The Highlanders' position was bettered by a higher goal difference (17) than Jamshedpur (-6), leading them to a fourth-place finish. The Red Miners finished in fifth position.

As the pathway to the semi-finals lures both teams, offering a potential roller-coaster ride for us, sit back and enjoy the match as Sportz Point provides you with all the real-time updates, team news, live scores, and match commentary tonight.

This is Soumit Bhattacharya, who will bring you all the updates of the match from the web desk.

Moreover, you can follow us on Twitter for all the updates. Join our Telegram and WhatsApp channels to get all the news and scores.

Indian Super League outfit Kerala Blasters have reportedly finalized appointing their new head coach for next season's edition of India's primary football tournament. 

According to multiple reports, the Manjappadas have roped in former El Salvador manager David Doniga as their new head coach, while the contract negotiations are in the final stages.

Kerala Blasters have finalised their coach and are now into the final stages of contract negotiations. The club expects to have a coach in place in the next 2-3 days.#IndianFootball #ISL #KBFC

— Marcus Mergulhao (@MarcusMergulhao) March 24, 2025

David Doniga will reportedly acquire the Kerala Blasters' hot-seat 

David Doniga has a very impressive coaching career despite taking up jobs mostly as an assistant manager. The 43-year-old Spanish tactician has gathered experience in coaching across 6 countries: Spain, Kuwait, Ecuador, Panama, El Salvador, and Bolivia.

Leading El Salvador to the CONCACAF Nations League A is the most praiseworthy feat Doniga has achieved so far in his career. The Spanish mastermind became the head coach of El Salvador in January 2024 before getting sacked a year later, in February 2025. 

In the 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League B Group A, El Salvador topped the group with five wins out of six games, earning promotion to League A, and earning qualification for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup as well under his managerial radar.

David Dóniga al frente de #LaSelecta:

🇸🇻 15 partidos dirigidos
✅ 7 victorias
🤝 4 empates
❌ 4 derrotas
⚽ 18 goles a favor
🛑 15 goles en contra pic.twitter.com/8mUH1ZGwVh

— Josué Valiente (@JosueValiente47) February 24, 2025

Interestingly, Doniga was on the sidelines when El Salvador faced world champions Argentina in a 0-3 defeat in Philadelphia, US on March 23, 2024. During his tenure, Doniga oversaw 14 matches with El Salvador, achieving 7 victories, 3 draws, and 4 losses

Doniga served as an assistant coach in Kuwaiti football in 2021 and was appointed as an assistant to Thomas Christiansen on the Panama national team, where he also led the under-23 squad. 

The Spanish manager also became a crucial tactical brain behind Panama's brilliant run in the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifying, when Panama finished fifth on the table, missing out of the inter-continental play-off zone for only four points.

In 2022, he had a brief coaching stint with AD Nueve de Octubre in the Ecuadorian Liga Pro Serie A. After that, he worked with Sporting San Miguelito in Panamanian football from June to December 2023.

However, Doniga has experience working in LaLiga as well, having assisted Victor Sanchez as an assistant coach for Real Betis between November 2016 to May 2017. He also assisted Victor for clubs such as Spanish sides Deportivo, Malaga, and Greek side Olympiacos in different short stints.

Doniga holds a UEFA pro License as a coach, whereas he was also featured in the famous 'The Coaches Voice' back in September 2024.

However, nothing has been finalized and there is no official confirmation yet from Kerala Blasters concerning this appointment.