Bhubaneswar: The Kalinga Stadium has seen a flurry of sporting activity, including the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup recently.
Now, the magnificent stadium is ready to welcome back Odisha FC in back-to-back games, after a long gap of 982 days.
Coincidentally, Josep Gombau has returned as head coach of the Juggernauts after h
is previous stint at the club in 2019, when Odisha last played an ISL game at their home venue.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the previous two editions of ISL being held in Goa.
Come Sunday, Odisha FC will host Kerala Blasters in their first home fixture of ISL-8, before taking on the might of Bengaluru FC on October 27.
It will be Odisha FC’s third game of the season. Having launched their 2022-23 season with a brilliant come-from-behind 3-2 win in Jamshedpur, the Juggernauts went down 0-2 in Mumbai in a fiercely-fought encounter.
Going by their past head-to-head record, it should be an even contest tomorrow. In six meetings so far, Odisha FC have won once and Kerala Blasters twice, while three games have been drawn.