Rejuvenated Mohun Bagan will face the Hyderabad FC on Saturday evening at Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Salt Lake, Kolkata. Hyderabad are currently struggling on and off the pitch and standing right at the bottom of the ISL points table. After the high-voltage Kolkata Derby, in which Mohun Bagan eventually settled for a draw against their archrival East Bengal, they are currently focusing on their next match to get the desired 3 points. Although the Kolkata Derby was dominated by the Green and Maroon Brigade, they had to make a comeback twice, as the later one was a last-minute equaliser by talisman Dimi Petratos. The team under new coach Antonio López Habas has found their lost confidence and is ready to cash in on their next encounter against the weakest opponent of this season’s ISL.
Hyderabad FC, on the other hand, is struggling for their existence and is not in good shape as almost the entire squad of the ISL moved out because of a financial crisis, including five of their foreign players and coaching staff. They have conceded five goals without giving anything back in their last two matches after the break. Their young but inexperienced squad showed good resilience in the last concluded Kalinga Super Cup, but not good enough against strong ISL sides like FC Goa and Odisha FC, who currently sit at the top of the table. Their lone foreigner, Captain João Victor, is still fighting the uneven battle to steady the ship, but it is indeed a very weak resilience to be fare. However, their young brigade was very impressive, especially Makan Chothe, and they would be here for a genuine upset against the Kolkata giant Mohun Bagan on Saturday.
Mohun Bagan, with the newly appointed head coach, might have sorted out their upfront problem as both of their forwards, Petratos and Sadiku, were on the scoresheet in the Kolkata Derby. But apart from that, they were more happy to see their star signing, Sahal Abdul Samad, play in the last match for ninety minutes. Sahal’s creativity has been duly missed in the middle of the park since his forced exclusion from the squad because of a month’s long ankle injury.
But the main problem for the side is that it remains their defence. They have conceded 11 goals in their last five matches, and it will continue to give Habas a sleepless night as it stands right now.
The star Indian centre back Anwar, who made his comeback after 3 months in Derby, lasted only 13 minutes with a fresh hamstring injury. Experts have speculated that the centre back was hurriedly back on the pitch and might not have fully recovered to play such a high-intensity match. He will be out for at least 2 weeks due to that injury.
Along with that, foreign centre back Brendan Hamill will also be ruled out for 2 weeks due to the reckless challenge he received from East Bengal midfielder Ajay Chhetri. So a new pair, Subhasish Bose and Hector Yuste, will lead the backline along with Amandeep, who was impressive in the last Derby, and Raj Basfore.
Asish Rai, who missed the last match due to injury, could make a comeback against his old club, for which he scored in their last encounter.
Line-up Prediction:
Previous Encounter: Mohun Bagan 2 – 1 Hyderabad FC (Jan 14, 2024, Kalinga Super Cup)
Kick off Time: 7:30PM(IST)
Live telecast/streaming: JioCinema, Sports18 3, DD Bangla, OneFootball(International)
Venue: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.
