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“Do or Die”.
This might be the mentality of each and every Mohun Bagan player when they take on their arch rivals East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium. A bad start to the season, the derby scandal, starting their second innings with nothing in hand and now the fear of relegation – certainly this season has not been good at all for the Mohun Bagan players, coach and of course for the fans.
Though the countdown has already started and the heat of the game has already begun to spread, let’s take a look at how Mohun Bagan can dominate Saturday’s derby:
Play to Odafa’s strength
Tomorrow, Mohun Bagan will deeply rely on their captain and primary striker Odafa Okolie, who can change the complexion of the game on his own. Mohun Bagan fans and neutrals will want to see the team play some attractive football. But when it comes to the question of winning the game, then Mohun Bagan should play their natural direct game. Not thinking very much about East Bengal defense, Mohun Bagan should try to attack from the very first half, rather than playing possession football and waiting for the right chance and no doubt that Odafa will play a big role in Mohun Bagan’s attack tomorrow.
Give Tolgay a free role
Apart from Odafa, Tolgay might be a key factor in tomorrow’s game and he should play his natural game to help Mohun Bagan to snatch a win from their arch rival East Bengal. This Aussie striker was at his best at East Bengal, when he used to play as the support striker with Robin Singh. As a result, instead of playing two strikers, Mohun Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa should starts with just Odafa upfront and allow Tolgay the freedom to run at East Bengal’s back four.
Target East Bengal custodian Abhijit Mondal
Mohun Bagan players should try to expose East Bengal’s goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal. Though the veteran goal-keeper has great reflexes, but, as has been seen on a couple of occasions, he struggles a bit with crosses and long balls. As a result, sometimes he ends up making mistakes in the box.
Don’t give Edeh Chidi any space
While Mohun Bagan will rely on Odafa, at the same time, East Bengal will keep faith on Chidi to torment the Mohun Bagan defense. East Bengal has struggled a bit for goals in this season so far and apart from Chidi, no one has found the back of the net regularly. If Chidi can be man-marked out of the game then East Bengal could struggle to score. Eche could be the ideal player to give this role.
Play as it’s the relegation decider
In spite of thinking about their past and thinking much about their not-so-good performances so far in this season, Mohun Bagan should look forward to try and win this derby at any cost. Lingering at the bottom, Mohun Bagan should approach the game as if it’s the last game of the season, which they have to win to save them from relegation. Though the Mariners will get a few opportunities after this match to recover from the threat of relegation, but if they can manage a win here then it will be the best way to answer all the criticisms and humiliation they have faced in the past few months.
