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I-League heavyweights Mohammedan SC will take on Indian Air Force in Group A of the 2022 Durand Cup at Kishore Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday, August 27.
The Black and White Brigade are joint-top of the table with two wins in two games and could seal a quarter-final berth with another victory at the weekend. After coming from behind to defeat defending champions FC Goa 3-1 on the opening day, Mohammedan SC maintained their perfect record with a 3-0 win over Jamshedpur FC last Sunday.
New signing Faslu Rahman was on target once again, heading the hosts into the lead in the first half. Mohammedan SC maintained their dominance in the second period and added two more goals via Abhishek Halder (71st minute) and SK Faiaz (74th minute).
Indian Air Force, on the other hand, lie at the bottom of the Group A standings after defeats to FC Goa and Bengaluru FC. Priya Darshan's side are also yet to score a goal in the competition.
On Tuesday, the Airmen were thrashed 0-4 by a top-notch Bengaluru FC side who outclassed them in all departments. Roy Krishna put the Blues ahead after just nine minutes before defender Tombing Songliansiam deflected in Sunil Chhetri's shot for an own goal in the 23rd minute.
The Indian Air Force attacked sporadically and couldn't trouble Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the Bengaluru FC goal. The ISL side added two more goals late in the second half to condemn Indian Air Force to their heaviest Durand Cup defeat since a 0-5 loss to United SC in 2010.
Mohammedan SC will target a last-eight spot, while the Airmen fight for their survival in the tournament. On that note, let's check out three key player battles for Saturday's clash.
#3 Sairuat Kima (MDS) vs Prabhjot Singh (IAF)
Mohammedan SC's new centre-back Sairuat Kima was named Player of the Match for his impenetrable performance against Jamshedpur FC. The 24-year-old has been one of the best defenders in the I-League over the past two seasons with Sudeva Delhi FC, earning him a big move to Andrey Chernyshov's side.
Against Indian Air Force, Kima will come up against the diligent attacking midfielder Prabhjot Singh. The former Minerva Punjab player put in a remarkably tireless performance against Bengaluru FC, making the Blues' defenders work much harder than they might've expected to.
Prabhjot will be crucial for Air Force if they are to open their goalscoring account, while Kima will surely have other plans.
#2 SK Faiaz (MDS) vs Mohammad Aqib (IAF)
SK Faiaz has been one of Andrey Chernyshov's most trusted forwards at Mohammedan SC. The winger had a superb game against Jamshedpur FC, demonstrating his good dribbling skills on both flanks. The 27-year-old also added his side's third goal to cap off a wonderful day.
Faiaz's primary opponent against Indian Air Force will be their best defender of the Durand Cup so far, Mohammad Aqib. One of the youngest players in the squad, Aqib has been a silver lining in the Airmen's tough campaign. His aggressive defending has made him stand out among the rest of the backline.
#1 Marcus Joseph (MDS) vs Shibinraj Kunniyil (IAF)
It's common knowledge that when you're fighting to get a result against a big team, your goalkeeper must have a good game. Unfortunately for Indian Air Force, that wasn't the case against Bengaluru FC as their custodian Shibinraj Kunniyil was easily beaten on multiple occasions.
There's no respite for Kunniyil, though, as he will come up against the Durand Cup top-scorer from the last two editions, Marcus Joseph. The Mohammedan SC striker also won the I-League Golden Boot with 15 goals last season and two of those came against Kunniyil, who played for Sreenidi Deccan FC.
