Mohun Bagan are the in-form team of the tournament, thrashing Shivajians 4-0 in the opener and battling out a 3-2 win over Lajong in the second game.
Bengaluru FC meanwhile started the tournament with a well played 3-2 win over Lajong but succumbed to a shocking 0-2 loss to DSK Shivajians who are level on points with the Blues.
The loss against Shivajians meanwhile have skewed Bengaluru's hopes of progress as they need to look at the previous game where Shivajians take on Shillong Lajong. The group is still wide open and a Shivajians win will put all three teams in contention if Bengaluru defeat Mohun Bagan with the three teams on six points a piece. In that case head to head goal difference will come into action which might mean that Bengaluru need to win the match by a big margin. (Shivajians having already played both Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan have a H2H GD of -2)
A Shivajians draw will see Bengaluru progress if they win their match, but a draw against Mohun Bagan will see them eliminated with DSK enjoying head to head advantage. A point will be enough for the Blues if Shillong surprise Shivajians.
When these two teams faced off during the league campaign, Blues were held to a stalemate at their home ground and were handed a 3-0 thrashing in Kolkata. Coach Alberto Roca will be concerned about keeping it tight at the back even though it is a must-win game.
TEAM NEWS
The big news for the Blues is the suspension of midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh. It will be interesting to see who Roca chooses to fill the big hole left in midfield due to Lyngdoh’s absence. The rest of their dynamic 4-3-3 is expected to be unchanged but could be tweaked to go all out for a win. An unorthdox 4-4-2 could see Daniel paired with Glen up top with Chhetri and Udanta working in tandem as the inside forwards. This is a high risk strategy that will leave lots of space behind. Sunil Chhetri will need to take up responsibility and lead from the front and a couple of goals from the Indian striker wouldn’t go amiss in this scenario.
With the form they are in, Mohun Bagan is expected to field an unchanged XI for their last group game. They are already through to the Semi Final and will look to keep the winning momentum alive. Balwant and Duffy are in form and will look to cause havoc up front in Bagan’s 4-4-2 although Sanjoy Sen might be inclined to give Jeje a shot as well. With their opponents desperate for a win, they will look to pounce on counter attacking opportunities by utilising the space left behind by opposition midfielders.
PREDICTED LINE UPS
The match kicks off at 7PM IST at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.