Cleiton Silva: We will try to surprise Hyderabad FC

East Bengal will lock horns with Hyderabad FC in a must-win fixture to stay alive in the Hero Super Cup.

East Bengal will take the pitch on Thursday against ISL semi-finalists Hyderabad FC. The Kolkata-based side will be keen to win the match in order to keep their hopes alive in the Hero Super Cup and provide some respite to its fans after a dismal ISL season.

With the tournament slated to be Stephen Constantine's last stint with the club, the head coach will be eager to reach the knockout stages of the league before leaving the hot seat. The case is similar with most of the foreigners as well. Hence, the whole squad is expected to give their best against the formidable Hyderabad side and get three points to keep their hopes for a knockout qualification alive.

A day prior to the game, East Bengal ace striker Cleiton Silva expressed his thoughts on the game. Edited excerpts of what he said are as follows.

Thoughts regarding the game against Hyderabad FC

Cleiton Silva talked about his thoughts regarding the upcoming game. He talked about what his team needs to do to play a better game of football against the mighty Hyderabad FC. The striker also expressed his thoughts about what went wrong in their last outing against Odisha.

"I think we have to be more focused on the game. In the last game, we did not start the first half so well. But the second half was pretty good, we created a lot of chances. I think tomorrow we are going to play against a much more qualified team. For the last two years, they have been a very good side in the ISL. I think tomorrow will be a tough game. and we will try to improve a bit more our focus on the game."

Motivation against Hyderabad FC?

Cleiton Silva said that defeats at the hands of Odisha FC on both occasions in ISL proved to be an added source of motivation for the team in their last game. He further stated that going forward, in their game against Hyderabad, two defeats at the hands of the Nizams in ISL will also act as a similar motivator to go out and give their best to earn a victory.

"In the last game, we had extra motivation because we lost both games against Odisha in the ISL. Despite being in a winning position in both games, we ended up losing. But tomorrow, we are facing Hyderabad. As I said, they are a good side. But we will try to do our best. They have quality players, a good coach, and a good squad. We will try to surprise them tomorrow."