Kerala Blasters
Kerala Blasters will be counting on their home advantage against FC GoaISL official website

Kerala Blasters and FC Goa face each other in the 23rd fixture of the Indian Super League as both sides look to make their way out of the bottom end of the table.

The Blasters have been poor in the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League so far as they are currently in seventh position, with one win, one draw and three defeats from their opening five fixtures.

After two successive defeats against NorthEast United (1-0) and Chennaiyin FC (2-1), the Blasters managed to hold leaders Atletico de Kolkata to a 1-1 draw.

And just as it looked like the Sachin Tendulkar co-owned team was finally getting its act together following a 2-1 win over Pune City, the Blasters suffered yet another defeat at the hands of Mumbai City (1-0) in their last fixture.

Blasters player-manager David James feels his team's poor defending in set piece situations have been the main reason behind their disappointing results so far.

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"Every goal that we have conceded has come from restarts; like for the Pune game where the goal came from a quick free kick," James told ISL official website.

The Blasters attacking form has also not been that great as they have only managed to net four goals from their five games.

Still, the former England goalkeeper is confident that his side can score more goals once their start finding their rhythm.

"I am confident that we can score more goals. It's just that we need to get into our rhythm and start scoring, so as much as I want clean sheets, I also want us to score more goals."

Despite currently being at the bottom of the ISL table, James is hopeful that the Blasters can pick up maximum points in their home games and qualify for the semifinals of the competition.

"We want to win every game, but we also know that to win the league you need to pick up points, which we have done in the away leg and now we have the home games and hopefully that will help get us to the knock outs," he added.

Meanwhile, Goa will now be hoping to put on a good run of form, following the 2-1 triumph over Delhi Dynamos in their last fixture.

Goa have been the worst team in the Indian Super League so far, recording three defeats and a draw in their first four fixtures.

Despite them finally managing a victory against the Dynamos, Goa still find themselves rock bottom, with only four points from their five fixtures (same as the Blasters).

Although Goa have been criticised for not being solid at the back, coach Zico insists that his side's main problem is not the defence but their inability to finish.

"I think our problems is not the defence, we are losing way too many opportunities forward, and we have created many opportunities during our games. I think our defence is doing very well and I actually do not have any problem with them, I trust my defence to do their job," the Brazil Legend told ISL official website.

Goa are expected to beat the Blasters on Thursday but the 61-year-old insists his side will not be taking James' men lightly.

"I think Kerala is the team that is in the same situation as us, they have four points and it was very difficult for them to play so many games away from home and they need to win some games; so we need to be very cautious about the way we approach this game, because now they are playing at home," he added.

Where to Watch Live

The ISL match is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST, 9.30 am ET) start with live TV coverage in India provided by a lot of channels including Star Sports 2,Star Sports HD2,Star Sports 3, Star Gold,Asianet Movies, Suvarna Channel and Jalsha Movies. Viewers can also watch the ISL match via free live streaming online on Starsports.com.

US viewers can live stream the action on FoxSoccer2go, while Europe viewers can catch the action live on Eurosport or their online Player. Middle East and North Africa viewers can watch the game on Bein Sports or via live streaming on Bein Sports Connect.

South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa audience can catch the ISL match live on SuperSport or their online option. Australia viewers can catch the match live on Fox Sports 2 or via their live video option online.