Odisha split from Ramirez after their last game against the Kerala Blasters, in which they lost and finished ninth with 13 points from 10 games.
Kino Garcia was announced as his interim replacement and on Tuesday there will be work on hand to revive the ship against the Northeast United side who want to galvanize their arsenal themselves.
Northeast United are 10th in Odisha with nine points from 11 engagements.
Marcelinho, meanwhile, is set to make his NEUFC debut against former club Odisha as the Brazilian forward marks his return to the tournament.
With 33 goals and 18 assists in the ISL, Marcelinho brings enough experience and a final third ability as Northeast United hope to turn their season around.
Garcia’s first job will be to stabilize the porous defense. Odisha have scored 24 goals in just 10 matches this season. No team has conceded more goals than Odisha.
Northeast United midfielder Lynchpin Hernan Santana scored a stunning goal on a free kick in the draw against FC Goa and is looking good late.
In a season where Northeast United have been plagued by injuries, Hernan Santana has played more minutes than any other Northeast United player.
The Spanish midfielder has alternated between playing center-back and midfield this season, but has been forced into a late midfield role due to the emergence of the Patrick Flotman-Mashur Sharif duo.
Santana is Northeast United’s chief orchestrator, touching the ball more and completing more passes than any other NEUFC player.
Imran Khan has also gone ahead this season as a creative outlet for Northeast United in the absence of Fed Gallego. He has three assists to his name this season.
Among Indian players, only Roshan Singh (5) is more supportive than Imran Khan.
The last time the two sides met in the first half of the season, Odisha won 1-0.