Super Cup 2018: East Bengal v Mumbai City FC - TV channel, stream, kick-off time & match preview

Ashish Peter

Super Cup 2018: East Bengal v Mumbai City FC - TV channel, stream, kick-off time & match preview image

East Bengal are pitted against Mumbai City FC in their Round of 16 clash of the Super Cup which will take place at the Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

Game East Bengal v Mumbai City FC
Date Thursday, April 4
Time 5:00 PM IST (GMT +5:30)
 

TV CHANNELS & LIVE STREAM


 

The Star Sports Network have the exclusive broadcasting rights of the Super Cup. The games will be telecast with the option of English and/or Hindi commentary over their bouquet of television as well as digital platforms.

India (English) TV channel Online streams
Star Sports 2/2 HD Hotstar and Jio TV

 


TEAM NEWS


EAST BENGAL:

KEB XI

Injured: Nikhil Poojary, Mohammed Rafique 
Doubtful: Eduardo Fereira
Key Players: Katsumi Yusa, Mahmoud Al Amnah


MUMBAI CITY FC:

MCFC XI

Injured: None
Doubtful: None 
Key Players: Achille Emana, Balwant Singh
 


GAME PREVIEW


" perform:prop=

Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Mumbai City FC will lock horns with I-League giants East Bengal in a Round of 16 clash of the Super Cup 2018. East Bengal have not had a league campaign to be proud of. Their wait for the I-League title continued as they were pipped to it by newcomers Minerva Punjab on the final day.

The Kolkata giants ultimately finished fourth after being held to a 2-2 draw by NEROCA FC in their final fixture.

There has been plenty of upheaval in the coaching department since then for the Red and Golds with veteran coach Subhash Bhowmick brought back to the club in the role of a technical director. He has been sharing coaching duties with head coach Khalid Jamil whose future at the club is a subject of plenty of speculation.

East Bengal lost midfielder Mohammed Rafique to an injury while on international duty with India but they did strengthen their midfield earlier by the signing of Uganda’s Khalid Aucho.

" perform:prop=

Alexandre Guimaraes’ men, on the other hand, had an average campaign themselves in the recently concluded edition of the ISL. The side finished in the seventh spot, after the highs of last year where they finished as league leaders at the end of the league phase. 

Having had to come through the qualifying route in the Super Cup, the Islanders were nearly knocked out of it by All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) developmental side Indian Arrows. It took an injury-time penalty from midfielder Achille Emana and an extra-time winner from Everton Santos to get Mumbai over the line.

Spanish forward Rafael Jorda was not able to recover in time for the competition which leaves Guimaraes with two foreigners at his disposal. It remains to be seen if the Costa Rican coach opts to start Balwant Singh up front after his exertions with the Indian national team in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

With both sides enduring relatively poor seasons, it remains to be seen who will come out on top in their clash on Wednesday.

Ashish Peter