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All eyes will be on Kateerava Stadium, Bengaluru tonight as the home side and defending champions Bengaluru FC welcome Kolkata and Indian football giants Mohun Bagan in the I-League grand finale. The stage is all set for a photo finish of the tournament as the title will be decided on this very final day. Mohun Bagan are on 38 points from 19 matches while Bengaluru FC are on 36 points from same number of games.
Either a draw or a win would suit Sanjoy Sen’s men while Ashley Westwood’s side need to win in any condition to defend their title. Both the teams will take the field with full strength squad, thus a mouth-watering clash is on the card. The stadium is expected to be filled up to the brim as the home fans will definitely be present in numbers to witness history. Several away fans of Mohun Bagan will also be present in numbers to intensify matters at the stadium. It will be a perfect advert for the I-League.
Venue
Sri Kanteerava Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bengaluru, India. It is used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 24,000 people. It also includes two outdoor rock climbing walls, a running track, a football field and a volleyball court. It is Bengaluru's main sports stadium and several national level teams hold their training sessions here.
Kick-off
May 31, 2015: 7:00 pm – India (IST)
Possible Starting line ups
Bengaluru FC (4-5-1): Lalthuammawia Ralte; Rinto Anto, John Johnson, Curtis Osano, Keegan Perreira; Josh Walker, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Shankar Sampingiraj, Sunil Chhetri, Sean Rooney; Robin Singh
Ashley Westwood has a fit team at his disposal for the I-League grand final tie against Mohun Bagan. Bengaluru FC gaffer did not field Sunil Chhetri in the starting lineup in the midweek AFC Cup game against Hong Kong’s South China. The Bengaluru FC captain will be back in the first team squad along with Robin Singh.
Mohun Bagan (4-4-2): Shilton Pal; Pritam Kotal, Belo Rasaq, Kingshuk Debnath, Dhanachandra Singh; Katsumi Yusa, Souvik Chakraborty, Shehnaz Singh, Sony Norde; Pierre Boya, Balwant Singh.
Mohun Bagan are expected to make just one change in their starting lineup from last week’s game against Sporting Clube de Goa. Dhanachandra Singh might be back into the first XI in place of Sukhen Dey.
Sanjoy Sen’s men are just a point from the ultimate glory and they would go all guns blazing to secure their fourth title after 11 seasons. Sony Norde and Katsumi Yusa will play stellar roles in today’s game. The foreigners attack from the wings and their speedy runs and skillful moves will provide a huge threat on Bengaluru FC defense.
Key Players
Sunil Chhetri
Bengaluru FC skipper Sunil Chhetri is definitely the most intimidating factor for Mohun Bagan. The India international is in sublime form and is leading his team from the front. Sunil Chhetri is an experienced player has been playing top tier football for almost a decade now has been part of such crucial matches several times in his playing career. The Mohun Bagan defenders, especially Pritam will have to keep Chhetri under strictest vigilance to avoid any danger.
Sony Norde
Mohun Bagan’s Haitian international Sony Norde is undoubtedly one of the best foreigners in the I-League in this season. He is the talisman of the Mohun Bagan side and the team will look up to him for a triumph in this high voltage match. Norde possesses the capacity to change the colour of a match single-handedly. The Bengaluru FC defenders will have to mark him properly in order to avoid danger in the front of the goal.
Prediction
Both teams are evenly poised and it is extremely difficult to predict the outcome of the game. After analyzing and assessing it is safe to say that the teams in all probability will manage a draw and Mohun Bagan will emerge as champions for the fourth time in history
Prediction
Bengaluru FC 1-1 Mohun Bagan
