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Hyderabad FC, who will travel to take on Bengaluru FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday, know that they have a big ask on their hands.
Both these clubs, who are former champions of the league, are not at their best at the moment. Bengaluru are ranked 10th in the standings, while Hyderabad are placed 12th.
Hyderabad's head coach Thangboi Singto reiterated that despite the poor run of form Bengaluru are going through, the Nawabs will not have it too easy against them.
"For me, Bengaluru FC are one of the most professional teams in this country," Singto told reporters. "They are perhaps not at their best at the moment, but with the quality of players that they have, they can come back strongly at any time. We have seen Bengaluru in their prime, and know how good a side they can be."
"Be it Sunil (Chhetri), Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu) and Suresh (Singh), who have been around for a long time, to the likes of Chinglensana (Singh) and Nikhil (Poojari) who have joined them now, they have a lot of national team players, and it is not going to be easy for us," he added.
"We have to accept the fact that tomorrow, Sana and Poojary will be wearing the Bengaluru colours" - Thangboi Singto
One of the biggest roadblocks that Hyderabad will face is the absence of two of their most reliable players this season - Alex Saji and Joao Victor. Both got two yellows in their previous game against East Bengal last Saturday and have been suspended for this trip to the Garden City.
This effectively means that Hyderabad will not have any center-backs to partner Mohammad Rafi in their defence, which will be a huge cause of concern for them.
"Now that Alex and Joao are ruled out due to their suspensions, the coaching staff and I have been racking our heads trying to figure out whom to play as the centre-back alongside (Mohammad) Rafi. And to be honest with you, we have not found the right combinations yet. But we have one more day of training to go before we fly out tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully, we will be able to get a clear picture by then," Thangboi Singto said.
Another challenge that Hyderabad will face is clashing against their former defenders Chinglensana Singh and Nikhil Poojari, who have now switched allegiance to the Blues.
Thangboi Singto did not choose to get drawn into the debate as to what he thought of the duo's move in the winter transfer window. However, he said that he had been pushing his current group players to get motivated and do well against them.
"I have been trying to instil in my players the feeling that we have to play well against them. Look, the players are mature enough to know what they want. And the situation was such that things were not in their control at all. So, they took the decision they had to take. And we have to accept the fact that tomorrow, they (Sana and Poojary) will be wearing the Bengaluru colours while my boys will be wearing the Hyderabad colours. And they will give their best," he signed off.
