Kolkata: East Bengal will look to avenge their last month’s defeat when they face a beleaguered Mohun Bagan in the return leg I-League derby football fixture here, Sunday.
Former champions Mohun Bagan, have problems aplenty with the latest being their injured forward Sony Norde who is all set to be released, January 22.
“We are making best efforts and he has taken injections, maybe he will be seen in action for a few minutes one last time,” a team official said Saturday. The Haitian, even though he was present at the ground, did not train and even did not take part in the warm-up session.
Mohun Bagan have slumped to sixth in the table and have collected six points in the last six matches while East Bengal have climbed up to the top of the table with four back-to-back wins before slipping to second by dropping points in their last two matches.
Mohun Bagan coach Shankarlal Chakraborty was candid when he told reporters that the opposition had the upper hand.
“East Bengal are way ahead of us. With or without Norde, East Bengal will start favourites. You just look at the table. They have lost only one match. Their coach (Khalid Jamil) has a lot of more experience than me,” a modest Chakraborty said.
Mohun Bagan have in roped Lebanese forward Akram Moghrabi in place of a lacklustre Anusmana Kromah. The player who scored 10 goals in the 2012-13 season for Churchill Brothers will start in the playing XI. However, captain Shilton Paul may miss out owing to a stomach bug.
In such a scenario, East Bengal will be eager to bag three points that will close down the gap with table toppers Minerva Punjab.
East Bengal, on the other hand, have hired Dudu Omagbemi for a fresh stint and he would look to partner the mercurial Japanese Katsumi Yusa and Mahmoud Al Amna.
“This match is not going to be about Dudu. Rather, it’s all about the team. Personally, I’ll try to do my best and try and achieve three points from the game,” Dudu stated.
For skipper Yusa, the match is not ‘revenge’, but must-win one. “It is very important for us to win. We need it to stay as title-contenders,” Yusa told reporters after his team’s 90-minute training session.
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