Santosh Trophy: Kerala to face Punjab on Friday, semifinals in sight

Kerala will be hoping to confirm their berth in the semifinals of the Santosh Trophy with a win against an unpredictable Punjab at the Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram on Friday.

The home side captained by midfielder Jijo Joseph has two wins and a draw in three matches while Punjab which suffered a narrow defeat (0-1) in the opener to West Bengal had scored a crushing 4-0 win over Rajasthan the other day to stay in the reckoning.

On Wednesday, Kerala took on Meghalaya with the hope of securing the semifinal berth. But they have been made after the team from the northeast held them to a 2-2 draw.

Coach Bino George will be hoping his side plays their best football that had seen them run out 5-0 and 2-0 winners against Rajasthan and West Bengal respectively in their first two matches of the campaign.

Jesin TK, Shighil and Noufal, who came off the bench against Meghalaya and were impressive will be vying for their places in the starting XI against Punjab.

Captain Jijo Joseph, who missed a penalty and looked off after his hat-trick performance in the opener, will be looking to lead by example as Kerala face a young Punjab side that has grown in strength throughout the competition.

The match will kick off at 8 pm. In a 4 pm kickoff, at the Kottapady Stadium, Bengal will take on Meghalaya.