Mohun Bagan will lock horns against Chennaiyin to secure the top spot in the ISL table in a tensed atmosphere around Indian football.
After a disastrous international break for Indian football, the Indian Super League resumes, and Mohun Bagan will face struggling Chennaiyin FC on Sunday. Mohun Bagan is currently in the 2nd position of the table with 39 points from 18 matches, and Chennaiyin, on the other hand, has 18 points from 18 matches and is currently in the 11th position of the table.
As all the players were back from national duty, Mohun Bagan started practice with the full squad on Thursday, and if they needed to aim for the top position, they had to secure the full three points with a healthy margin. Mohun Bagan Star player Sahal Abdul Samad injured himself during the practice session of the national team and should be out for Sunday’s match. Although he is back in practice, his inclusion in the squad is very unlikely. Based on the current state of the international players, coach Habas fielded his line-up on Sunday, but he expects a couple of changes in the lineup.
These four matches will be very vital for Mohun Bagan, and they cannot let any points be dropped. If they secure the victory on Sunday, they will go to the top of the table ahead of Mumbai City FC.
Mohun Bagan is unbeaten under Antonio Lopez Habas and found their goal-scoring form as three of their strikers in the top 5 goal-scoring list. The inclusion of Joni Kauko into the squad has done wonders for them, along with the calmness of youngster Abhishek Suryavanshi. Although Manvir looked pretty awful with the national team, he contributed heavily to this Mohun Bagan team with 2 goals and 6 assists in 16 matches. Their three forwards, Cummings, Petratos, and Sadiku, are in awesome form and have scored 24 goals among themselves, which is more than some of the ISL clubs. Anyway, after a stellar performance against the Kerala Blasters, Sadiku might start from the bench, as Jason could be the preferred choice along with Petratos.
Chennaiyin has had a very disappointing season so far, although they have registered a surprise win against a top-notch Odisha FC at home. But sitting in the 11th position is surely not satisfying their fans. They have the potential, and their race to the 6th position on the table is very much on for qualification to the play-off round. So, they could flex their muscles against Mohun Bagan with their limited capacity at Salt Lake.
Kick off Time: 7:30PM(IST)
Live telecast/streaming: JioCinema, Sports18 3, DD Bangla, OneFootball(International)
Venue: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.
