FC Goa v Chennaiyin FC: Confirmed lineups and pre-match update for ISL 2026-27
FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC meet at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa on October 10, 2026, in the second game of the Indian Super League 2026-27 opening day double-header. Both clubs will go into the 19:30 PM IST kickoff with Indian head coaches — Gouramangi Singh for FC Goa and Clifford Miranda for Chennaiyin FC — and confirmed lineups have been released.
FC Goa have undergone significant change since their last ISL campaign: Manolo Marquez departed to take charge at Mumbai City FC and his assistant Gouramangi Singh has been promoted to head coach. Singh’s first match in charge ended in a defeat to FK Arkadag in the preliminary stage of the AFC Champions League 2 2026/27, several long-serving players have left the squad, new Indian players have been recruited and the foreign contingent has been overhauled. Goa’s pre-season form has been inconsistent; they beat Chennaiyin in a friendly but lost their final warm-up 2–0 to I-League side Dempo SC and played multiple friendlies against Goan sides as part of their build-up.
Chennaiyin FC finished 13th in the ISL 2025/26 but retained Clifford Miranda to lead a squad rebuild that the club describes as a phased transition away from senior players toward younger recruits. The club and coach have worked on bringing in players they expect to adapt to Miranda’s possession-based approach, and Chennaiyin have had almost two months of pre-season without competitive fixtures. Their pre-season slate consisted of seven friendlies, with the only defeat coming to FC Goa, and their most recent preparation match was a narrow win over Bengaluru FC.
The fixture carries an established history between the sides: it has produced the most goals in Indian Super League history and has generated notable moments such as Stiven Mendoza’s winner in the 2015 ISL final and periods of recent FC Goa dominance. The two teams also met in a pre-season friendly a couple of weeks ahead of this opening-day encounter.
Head-to-head and squad information published ahead of the match list the all-time wins as: FC Goa wins – 18 Chennaiyin FC wins – 9. Confirmed lineups and player lists released by the source are: Bob Jackson (GK), Ronney Wilson, Sandesh Jhingan, Alex Zalaya, Aakash Sangwam; Tomba Singh, Alex Vallejo; Isak Vanlalruatfela, Franchu, Muhammed Nemil; Chiki; Mohammad Nawaz (GK); Muhammed Saheef, Nuno Reis, Dippendu Biswas, Namgyal Bhutia; Ayush Chhetri, Nikola Stojanovic; Brison Fernandes, Madih Talal, Irfan Yadwad; Ramon Tanque;
The match will be played on October 10, 2026, at the Fatorda Stadium, with the season opener’s first game featuring Bengaluru FC against SC Delhi at the Kanteerava. Broadcast arrangements list Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD as the live television partners and the game will be available to stream for free on YouTube. For further match updates Khel Now directs readers to its Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube accounts and its Android and iOS apps, plus community channels on WhatsApp and Telegram.
Both clubs are expected to have fully fit squads available for their season openers, and the two coaches will be looking to begin the ISL 2026-27 campaign with a positive result.
