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East Bengal have taken the I-League title race to the final match-day but they still need some luck to clinch the title on Saturday.
East Bengal take on Gokulam Kerala in Kozhikode (Calicut) and definitely need to win this game to carry hopes of grabbing their first-ever I-League crown.
However, in the neighboring state, they need Chennai City FC to draw or lose their final match against Minerva Punjab to pip CCFC to league glory.
East Bengal, on 39 points in 19 matches, trail Chennai City by a point ahead of their final match. The odds favor Chennai City but recent form suggests East Bengal have a great chance of going the stretch.
Gokulam Kerala stand in the way of East Bengal and the league victory but the Calicut-based club has avoided relegation and could take it easy in their final game.
Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal - Match Information
Date: March 9, 2019
Kick-off time: 5 pm IST
Live Streaming: Hotstar and Jio TV
TV Telecast: Star Sports 1, HD 1, Star Sports Bangla 1
Live Commentary: Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal I-League Live Score
Venue: EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode (Calicut)
Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal - Team News
Gokulam Kerala: The Malabarians have Guilherme Batata suspended for a year for spitting at a referee. They don't have any other suspensions.
East Bengal: Jobby Justin is serving a six-game suspension for spitting at his Aizawl FC opponent Kareem Omolaja. He may have played his last game for the Red and Golds. East Bengal will welcome back Borja Gomez from a yellow-card suspension.
Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal - Predicted Line-ups
Gokulam Kerala: Arnab Das Sharma (GK), Deepak K, Andre Ettienne, Daniel Addo (captain), Mohamed Irshad, Marcus Joseph, Vorbe Fabien, Arjun Jayaraj, Ejiogu Emmanuel, Lalmuankima H, Abhishek Das
East Bengal: Rakshit Dagar (GK), Johnny Acosta, Kamalpreet Singh, Jamie Colado Santos, Enrique Esqueda, Kassim Aidara, Laldanmawia Ralte, Lalrindika Ralte (Captain), Borja Gomez, Brandon Vanlalremdika, Lalram Chullova
Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal - Form Guide
Gokulam Kerala: W-L-D-D-L
East Bengal: W-W-D-D-W
Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal - Head-to-head
Gokulam Kerala: 1
East Bengal: 2
Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal - Key players
Gokulam Kerala: Marcus Joseph
The Trinidad and Tobago striker has been in great form for Gokulam Kerala despite joining the squad pretty late. The 27-year-old joined Gokulam Kerala only at the start of January but in eight matches, he has scored six goals and lifted Gokulam Kerala from the relegation zone.
East Bengal: Enrique Esqueda
Enrique Esqueda missed some part of the East Bengal season due to an injury. However, he's their joint highest goalscorer (with Jobby Justin) with nine strikes in 13 matches. It was Esqueda who kept East Bengal's I-League chances alive with crucial goals against Real Kashmir and Minerva Punjab in the previous games. He has scored in EB's last 3 games and coach Alejandro Menendez will look to him for that final push to the I-League title.
Gokulam Kerala v East Bengal - Predictions
Gokulam Kerala's inconsistency itself could give East Bengal the upper hand. The Red and Golds are pretty determined to do whatever is in their control to win the title and they will go all out against GKFC. They are likely to walk away the winners in this game but what happens with the I-League title race will be more interesting.
Predicted Score - Gokulam Kerala 1-2 East Bengal
