Kolkata: Two-time Inter-zone semifinalists Mohun Bagan Super Giant will aim to consolidate the top spot when they face Maziya Sports & Recreation of Maldives in a group D South Zone AFC Cup fixture here Monday.
The Indian Super League defending champions began their AFC Cup group campaign with a 4-0 rout of Odisha FC.
The Maldives outfit also won their opening round match — a 3-1 victory over Bashundhara Kings of Dhaka.
Mohun Bagan and Maziya both have three points each but the Kolkata heavyweights lead group D with a better goal difference and the Juan Ferrando-coached outfit will look for another win to brighten their qualification hopes.
With only the South Zone group winners advancing to the Inter-Zone semi-finals, there will be no room for error in Group D, and Ferrando’s wards will look to continue their charge.
Dimitri Petratos has been prolific up front for the Mariners, while Sahal Abdul Samad and Liston Colaco have also found their mojo, striking a goal each in their win over Odisha FC.
The Mariners, who have assembled a star-studded side this season, have started to come on their won after winning the Durand Cup and the focus for Ferrando’s men will now be on to make the Inter-zonal semis for a third time on the trot.
Mohun Bagan will come to the match on the back of a 1-0 win over Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League with Hugo Boumous scoring the winner. This was the defending champions’ second win in the tournament.
“Obviously, we need to improve. I believe that paying attention to many details in situations like this is necessary to better control the space,” Ferrando said after their ISL match on September 27.
“After the match was tied at 0-0, we improved significantly after going up 1-0. However, the team struggled to control the spaces, so we must work on maintaining that control. This is why we need more training sessions,” the Spaniard said.
On head-to-head, Mohun Bagan have beaten their Maldives’ rivals three times in six outings, which included a 5-2 win in the last season.
Maziya will rely on their forward Vojislav Balabanovic who was also on the scoresheet in their win over the Dhaka outfit.
Hassan Nazeem, Ali Fasir will be the other key players for the Milomir Seslija-coached side.
Kick-off: 7.30pm.
PTI
