The ISL is back, and in full regalia (unlike last time around). The 2026/27 season of the Indian Super League kicks off on Saturday, October 10, after a major shift with AIFF handing over commercial rights of the league to the clubs.
There will be 13 teams participating in the league (IFL winners from last season, Diamond Harbour FC, could not pay the participation fee for the ISL and will therefore finish on the bottom of the league, as per the AIFF).
As is customary now, ESPN India pick out 6 aspects of every team - the coach, the best player, the team's biggest strength, their major worries, what to watch out for, and their most exciting new signing. We've also made predictions, but this is Indian football, and some predictions can be almost facts, and others the most uncertain thing we can do here.
East Bengal
Coach: (NEW) Antonio Habas. Serial winner. Most successful coach in the ISL.
Player: Anwar Ali. India's best player at the moment.
Strength: Their depth across positions, particularly with their Indian options.
Worry: How do they navigate the early parts of the ISL considering their AFC Champions League 2 commitments as well? Managing fatigue will be crucial.
W2W4: David Lalhlansanga. Some great goals in Asia already this season. How much of a part will he play, and how will that impact East Bengal, and by extension, the national team?
Signing: Dani Ramírez. Miguel Figueira left a creative hole in the side in that #10 position, Ramirez is the perfect player to fill that void.
Prediction: Favourites for the shield, favourites for the playoffs.
Mohun Bagan
Coach: (NEW) Panagiotis Dilmperis. Influential for Punjab FC in the last couple of ISL seasons, but this is a huge step-up in profile.
Player: Jamie Maclaren. The league's best goalscorer.
Strength: They are Mohun Bagan. That means they're full of battle-hardened winners.
Worry: Performances in the build-up to the season really haven't been up to scratch. Can Dilmperis bring it together in the league?
W2W4: Their midfield of Apuia Ralte and Anirudh Thapa. Full of impressive sparks for India in three friendlies recently, can they take it forward to the ISL?
Signing: Miguel Figueira or Dejan Drazic, both influential in the ISL previously, now brought in to dovetail with Maclaren.
Prediction: Perhaps the biggest challengers to East Bengal on both shield and cup fronts.
Mumbai City FC
Coach: (NEW) Manolo Marquez. Another stop in his Indian sojourn.
Player: Wilmar Jordan. Again, proper proven ISL goal-scorer. Huge for them this season, when they've lost some big players
Strength: Their defence. Carlos Delgado, Bijay Chhetri, Valpuia and Akash Mishra form a strong base for Marquez to build from.
Worry: The loss of Lallianzuala Chhangte to Mohun Bagan is huge. How do they replace Chhangte's eye for goal and his creativity?
W2W4: Can Vikram Partap Singh and PN Noufal step up to the plate in Chhangte's absence?
Signing: See 'player' above
Prediction: Perhaps in the mix to qualify for the playoffs, may not be in the race for the Shield.
Bengaluru FC
Coach: Pep Munoz, didn't have a great initiation to the ISL after taking over from Renedy Singh midway through last season, but has had a full pre-season with his squad this time.
Player: Ryan Williams. India's best attacking player.
Strength: A strong, settled Indian core.
Worry: Goalkeeper. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has been prone to some high-profile mistakes recently, but Munoz has thrown his weight behind Gurpreet, calling him the best goalkeeper in the country.
W2W4: Sunil Chhetri. It's always him, isn't it? However, he's 42 now, so what's his role going to be like this season, and how much of an impact can he have?
Signing: Menno Koch. The Dutch centre-back comes in, likely to take the place of Rahul Bheke, who's going to Mohun Bagan. He's a big unit and has experience in some big leagues.
Prediction:If their foreigners can click from early on, Bengaluru could be dark horses for the shield, but a comfortable run to the playoffs looks realistic in any case.
Punjab FC
Coach: (NEW) Pavlos Dermitzakis. After Dilmperis and Staikos Vergetis before him, Punjab have gone Greek again.
Player: Nikhil Prabhu. Leader, screen, passer, sets the platform for everything they do.
Strength: Settled, strong Indian core, particularly in midfield and defence. Sets a really good base for what they want to achieve.
Worry: Is stability affected with Dilmperis gone? Is Dermitzakis able to make them punch above their weight as much as Dilmperis did?.
W2W4: Muhammad Suhail. The young winger has been impressive in his appearances for the India U23 team.
Signing: Raphael Messi Bouli. Signing ISL-proven foreign strikers has been something of a pattern across teams this season.
Prediction: They've progressed up the table through their stay in the ISL, but after finishing sixth last season, have they strengthened enough to move further up?
FC Goa
Coach: (NEW) Gouramangi Singh. A massive show of faith from the club hierarchy in the former national team centre-back.
Player: Sandesh Jhingan. A lot has changed at Goa for this season, but their leader at the back hasn't.
Strength: There doesn't seem to be one area of their team that stands out. So if they are to achieve something, their strength will have to be their ability to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Worry: Too much upheaval, and a squad that does look short in certain key areas.
W2W4: In sparks and bursts last season, Muhammad Nemil looked a serious, serious talent. Can he convert those sparks into a season of consistency?.
Signing: Jorge Ortiz. Back at Goa, very successful in the ISL at different points in the past, Goa's focal point in attack this season.
Prediction: Could have a big challenge on their hands, even to make the playoffs.
Kerala Blasters
Coach: Ashley Westwood. Turned Kerala's season around last time, and they've convinced him to stay on.
Player: Adrián Luna. Enough said.
Strength: It's a good time for Westwood to harness some positivity around the club, with the change of ownership bringing a sense of positivity to the fanbase.
Worry: It's been a pre-season of uncertainty with the change in ownership, so has Westwood had enough time with the team prior to the start of the season?
W2W4: The return of Luna. He spent last season away on loan in Indonesia, but he's now back, and there are few who have regaled the Kochi crowd as much as the little Uruguayan has.
Signing: Mohammed Sanan. A bag of tricks, a Kerala boy, and now a Blasters boy. What's not to love?
Prediction: If they hit the ground running at the start, the Blasters could be a hard team to stop. They've got serious strength in their squad, and if they start well, Kochi will be a proper force behind them.
NorthEast United FC
Coach: Juan Pedro Benali stays on.
Player: Alaaeddine Ajaraie. Yes, he's back..
Strength: Ajaraie and Jithin MS together. Again. NorthEast fans will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of it.
Worry: As it always has been with Benali's NorthEast, can they be solid and secure at the back?
W2W4: Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia up front. Scorer of one of the best goals of last season. With Ajaraie and Jithin around him, can he score more and more often?
Signing: Pramveer Singh. Perhaps India's best prospect at centre-back.
Prediction: If Ajaraie flies again, then they will fancy their chances of making their playoffs.
Inter Kashi
Coach: (NEW) Carlos Vaz Pinto. Has been around Indian Football, particularly a division below in the IFL, with Sreenidi Deccan.
Player: Nishchal Chandan. Caught the eye at centre-back for Kashi last season, and is back with them now as well.
Strength: We'll wait to find out, because this scratch squad has been assembled with little time left.
Worry: They've barely had a squad together for a week before the start of the ISL.
W2W4: Everything, really.
Signing: Albino Gomes. They're going to defend quite a lot, so having a good goalkeeper is important, and Albino has gotten better and better in the last couple of seasons.
Prediction: They could really struggle this season.
Odisha FC
Coach: TG Purushothaman. Invaluable experience for him last season, and now a lot more is expected after certain impressive performances.
Player: Stephen Eze. One of the ISL's great foreign defenders.
Strength: Pace in the wide areas - Rahul KP, Nandhakumar Sekar, Ritwik Das, Imran Khan have all impressed at different points in the ISL.
Worry: Goals. Do they have a consistent source of it?
W2W4: So many promising young Indian players, can Purushothaman get a synchronized tune out of them?
Signing: See 'player' above
Prediction: Will get more points than they did last season, but perhaps not enough for the playoffs.
Delhi FC
Coach: Tomasz Tchorz. Big things expected from him now after quite a while together with this squad.
Player: Mohammed Aimen. So exciting with his bag of tricks from out wide.
Strength: A strong young Indian core, very nicely complemented by a neatly assembled set of foreign players.
Worry: Is it too much youth and not enough experience in the squad? Particularly with Alex Saji having left.
W2W4: Can they succeed where many have failed, and bring in a consistent fanbase for football in Delhi? Their CEO Dhruv Sood seems optimistic.
Signing: Lalrinliana Hnamte. Very exciting addition to their midfield.
Prediction: They've kept their Indians together for a while, and Sood is optimistic about the foreigners they've signed. He says top six is the priority this season, and Delhi could make a run for it.
Chennaiyin FC
Coach: Clifford Miranda. A big season for him after the disappointment of last season.
Player: Madih Talal. Proven creative force in this league, and one who could propel Chennaiyin this season.
Strength: Their attack does look nicely rounded, particularly with the new signings they've made.
Worry: Miranda came in for criticism for some of his tactics and decisions last season. Can he get the best out of a good squad this season?
W2W4: So many good young Indian players that they've brought together from elsewhere - Brison Fernandes, Dippendu Biswas, Namgyal Bhutia, Lahriatpuia.
Signing: Brison Fernandes. A seriously good option across the forward line.
Prediction: Have the squad to make the playoffs, but a lot depends on Miranda.
Churchill Brothers FC
Coach: (NEWish) Dimitris Dimitriou. The Cypriot was their coach the last time they played competitive football - in the 2024-25 season.
Player: Vincy Barretto has been around the ISL block a bit. Could he find a home in his home state, finally?
Strength: The fact that they're at least playing football again? They did miss out on a whole season, truncated as it might have been, so we'll wait to see what their strengths are.
Worry: Are their Indians strong enough for them to be a worthwhile contender for a playoff spot?
W2W4: Mr. Alem... No. A first Goan derby in the ISL could be a great watch though.
Signing: Pretty much all of their squad is new, so we'll wait to find out.
Prediction: Could struggle in their ISL debut year.