The first battle of heavyweights is round the corner as contenders Kingfisher East Bengal and defending champions Bengaluru FC aim to put it across one another in a round four Hero I-League game at the Barasat Stadium here on Sunday.
While Bengaluru FC come into the tie top of the table and on the back of a morale-boosting 3-0 win against Mumbai FC. CK Vineeth continued his scoring spree for the southern outfit with his first hat-trick for the Blues in that game.
But this will be their first away game and one that is expected to test them.
Red & Golds, on the other hand, eked out a draw against Aizawl FC in the first home game before recording two away wins on the bounce against DSK Shivajians and Churchill Brothers on the road.
“On paper, this is our toughest game. It can be as tough as we can make or as good as we can make. It depends on our performance,” Trevor Morgan, East Bengal coach said.
“My target is to get three points this time for East Bengal,” Robin Singh, who jumped ship from Bengaluru FC to East Bengal this season, added.
Anwar Ali is ruled out for this tie as well with Arnab Mondal still recuperating from his injury. The defence might be a problem for the red and gold brigade against a side like Bengaluru who have Vineet in red hot form.
“It is true that we have won three games in a row but an away game changes things. East Bengal are a tough side with some very good players and we’ll have to be better than we were before if we are to take anything away from this game,” Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca said on the eve of the marquee fixture.
Roca maintained that the need is to keep winning. The Spaniard denied changing his approach to the game, maintaining that changes would be made only to cater to the need of the team.
“Every opposition plays a different game and as a coach, it’s important to make sure that the best-suited team is out there. Some of our players have played all three games at home but whether they start or not depends on the opposition and the game-plan,” Roca added.
With defender Sandesh Jhingan not making the travel with a minor injury, Roca mentioned that the squad has enough in terms of depth to see the Blues through the run of away fixtures.
“Jhingan picked up a minor injury at training and I would rather have him recover completely with our medical team in Bengaluru than travel to Kolkata. But apart from that, we have a squad that’s ready to take this game on. Sena Ralte returns to the squad after missing the previous game.”
“The match is very important to us. We did not get to the best of starts which made the two away wins really important. Seven points from three games is ok. Tomorrow’s a challenge for us and for the opposition,” East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan said.
Morgan added that Sunday’s game will be Bengaluru FC’s toughest with his side looking to put it across the defending champions.
“Hopefully we will be able to give them a stronger test tomorrow,” the Briton said.
The fixture, which never fails to deliver, is scheduled at 04:30 PM and it’s to be telecast live on Ten 2.
