Kolkata: Arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan take on each other in a high-profile derby match of the I-League at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.
Both the teams come into the match on the back of poor form as each side has failed to win their last four matches in all competitions. Additionally they have only picked up one point each from their two matches after the near two-month break in the I-League.
The two clubs are level on 19 points as well but East Bengal (13 matches) have played four games less. The red-and-gold brigade suffered a big setback last weekend as they were beaten 0-1 by Dempo in Goa.
A win against their arch rivals though could give East Bengal the confidence for the rest of the campaign and they have the added incentive of doing the double over Mohun Bagan for the first time in the I-League era.
Armando Colaco's side won 1-0 earlier in the season - in November last - but Mohun Bagan will be encouraged by the fact that they beat East Bengal 1-0 in the most recent derby, which was a Calcutta Football League (CFL) clash in January.
"Here, every match is a derby. But for me, match against Mohun Bagan is the only derby considered. Winning it the first time was good and now I am looking forward again. The players are eager to play but I hope they recover from injuries and I have to deal with a suspension as well," Colaco said.
Nigerian centre-back Uga Okpara will be unavailable due to injury while another central defender Gurwinder Singh is suspended. However, striker Edeh Chidi is expected to be fit.
For Mohun Bagan, the priority is to stay clear of relegation as they are seven points ahead of rock-bottom Rangdajied. The green-and-maroon brigade are enduring a fourth straight trophy-less season and threw away two points by conceding a late equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Churchill Brothers last week.
"This is by far the biggest game in Indian football. No one can understand the feeling you go through unless you are involved in it. Personally I wish we had more games like the derby in the I-League - fans, intensity, rivalry, emotions, coverage," Mohun Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa said ahead of the derby.
Bencherifa is expected to be without his skipper Odafa Okolie, who still has not fully recovered from his injury, but another Nigerian striker Christopher Chizoba is set for his derby debut after being ineligible for the CFL clash.
Like any big Kolkata derby, Sunday's match is expected to be another exciting and unpredictable contest with both rivals desperate for maximum points to revive their season.
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