East Bengal to face Churchill; Mohun Bagan need a fresh start

This weekend is going to be a cracker, as two Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan take on Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar respectively. While East Bengal seem desperate to snatch a win against Churchill that would keep them in the title race, Mohun Bagan on the other hand, would be eager to clinch 3 points from their away match against Goan side Salgaocar FC.

East Bengal have a good record against Churchill Brothers. The Kolkata side beat Churchill in the 34^th Federation Cup and also in the I-League. Their last meeting finished 3-0. It’s a do or die match in front of the Red & Gold Brigade, as a win would lift them to the top spot in the I-League table. Right now Churchill are top of the table with 34 points from 14 games, while East Bengal have got 33 points from 16 games. Rumour has it that that East Bengal’s fourth foreigner Andrew Barisic might play in tomorrow’s match, but as per the latest reports he is unavailable for tomorrow’s match.

After getting a life-line to compete in the ongoing I-League, the biggest problem Mohun Bagan would face is their relegation fears. They are Mohun Bagan has zero points and lie in the last position on the league table, whereas Salgaocar ara in the 12^th position with 11 points from 15 matches. By the looks of things even if Mohun Bagan manage to win rest of their matches in the I-League they may still struggle to avoid the drop. As both Mohun Bagan and Salgaocar are very much in the relegation zone, we can expect a good match on Sunday. Bagan will be without captain and star striker Odafa Okolie. Coach Karim Bencherifa believes that if his players give their 100% they can manage to avoid relegation.