A beleaguered East Bengal will look to show their season round below new head coach Oscar Bruzon after they face arch-rivals Mohun Bagan within the much-anticipated ISL Kolkata derby on Saturday. The season’s first derby, initially scheduled through the Durand Cup in August, was deserted as a result of safety considerations amid the RG Kar rape-and-murder protests, leaving followers eagerly awaiting for this showdown between the 2 Kolkata giants. Since that abandonment, fortunes have been tough for East Bengal.
Four consecutive defeats led to the departure of final season’s Super Cup-winning coach Carles Cuadrat.
The Red and Gold Brigade stay the one staff and not using a win within the 13-team standings, including strain on Bruzon to regular the ship and ship outcomes.
On the opposite hand, Mohun Bagan have displayed their attacking aptitude however have struggled defensively, conceding seven objectives of their first 4 video games.
Currently sitting in fourth place with two wins, one draw, and one loss, they may goal to tighten their protection as they head into this high-stakes derby.
Jose Molina’s males will take confidence from their current 3-0 win over Mohammedan SC, because the coach seems to safe back-to-back wins and clear sheets for the primary time this season.
For the Mariners, their fortress on the Salt Lake Stadium has seen a flurry of objectives.
They have scored in every of their 12 residence ISL video games in 2024, discovering the again of the web at the very least twice in 11 of these matches.
They have scored 29 objectives on the Salt Lake Stadium in 2024, the second-highest tally for any staff at a single venue in a calendar yr.
Their attacking stats are equally spectacular this season, averaging 7.3 photographs heading in the right direction per sport at a staggering 55.8% taking pictures accuracy, which is one of the best within the league.
No different staff has maintained these stats over a full ISL season, making Mohun Bagan a frightening prospect for any defence.
East Bengal are winless of their final eight ISL conferences with Mohun Bagan, leaking at the very least two objectives in every encounter.
Bruzon will grow to be the second East Bengal supervisor to face Mohun Bagan in his first ISL sport.
The Red and Gold Brigade have traditionally struggled in managerial debuts within the ISL, and Bruzon will look to interrupt this pattern.
Cuadrat stays the one East Bengal coach to maintain a clear sheet in his first sport in cost.
Madih Talal of East Bengal has tried 83 passes ending within the last third, greater than every other participant within the ongoing ISL marketing campaign.
The Frenchman can be the participant with essentially the most profitable passes on this area in 2024-25 as he can be key to the red-and-gold’s assault.
For Mohun Bagan, Dimitri Petratos has 5 aim contributions towards East Bengal in earlier derbies. Petratos will as soon as once more be the risk for East bengal. However, he has discovered the web solely as soon as in his final six ISL video games.
After registering two assists from set items in his final match, Greg Stewart has been in kind. His supply from dead-ball conditions can be a key think about Mohun Bagan’s attacking play.
“A staff can lose all its matches in a season but it surely comes right into a derby with a unique (degree of) vigour. Moreover, a staff which has misplaced so many matches can be extra determined to get again in kind with a win right here,” Mohun Bagan skipper Subhasish Bose mentioned.
“For us, the aim is evident – to maintain profitable video games to stay on high of the desk. And we are going to do the whole lot doable to maintain working in the direction of that.” Mohun Bagan’s assault can be additional boosted by the return of Sahal Abdul Samad, the India midfielder who suffered a hamstring pressure and was substituted of their 0-3 loss at Bengaluru FC.
He additionally missed their match towards Mohammedan Sporting and couldn’t journey with the Indian staff for the Vietnam pleasant.
Kickoff: 7.30pm.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
