Durand Cup 2022 Preview: East Bengal face Mumbai City in a must-win encounter

The Islanders have scored 10 goals in the competition so far.

East Bengal will be up against Mumbai City in an expectedly enthralling encounter at the Kishore Bharati Stadium. The Kolkata giants are yet to secure their first victory of the season. Meanwhile, Mumbai City are on a marauding run, still unbeaten in the Durand Cup 2022.

The Stakes

East Bengal

The Red & Golds suffered an unfortunate loss against arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan a few days back. The team, after keeping two clean sheets, went on to concede an own goal. Stephen Constantine’s side will be looking forward to their first win of the competition.

Also, there is a narrow chance for East Bengal to qualify for the quarter-finals. Of course, that will happen only if Indian Navy defeat Rajasthan United and the Red & Golds manage a victory against the Islanders. Undoubtedly, Mumbai City will be a tough opponent to seek that feat.

Mumbai City

Mumbai City have won two games and drawn one in the Durand Cup 2022 so far. The team has conceded just three goals till now and scored 10. The Islanders have already qualified for the knockout stage. Des Buckingham’s army will take this encounter as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming battles.

Team News

Ivan Gonzalez will be out of this encounter due to suspension. VP Suhair and Ankit Mukherjee’s presence in the squad is also doubtful. Eliandro was subbed off against Bagan due to a niggle. But he’s expected to be in the squad against Mumbai.

Mumbai City will have a fully-fit contingent for this fixture.

Head-to-head

East Bengal are yet to defeat Mumbai City. The teams have faced each other only in the ISL. The Islanders have defeated the Kolkata giants in three of the four encounters. The other fixture ended in a draw.

Probable line-ups

East Bengal: Kamaljit Singh, Mohammad Rakip, Charalambos Kyriakou, Lalchungnunga, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Aniket Jadhav, Souvik Chakrabarti, Alex Lima, Tuhin Das, Eliandro, Cleiton Silva.

Mumbai City: Phurba Lachenpa, Amey Ranawade, Rostyn Griffiths, Mehtab Singh, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Vikram Partap Singh, Ahmed Jahouh, Greg Stewart, Apuia Ralte, Bipin Singh, Jorge Pereyra Diaz.

Man to watch

Cleiton Silva (East Bengal)

The former Bengaluru FC forward was the top scorer for the Blues with nine goals in ISL 2021-22. He made his debut for East Bengal against ATK Mohun Bagan and through his work rate and trickery stole the appreciation of the fans.

Greg Stewart (Mumbai City)

The Scottish attacking midfielder won the Golden Ball in the ISL last season where he scored 10 goals and assisted a similar number of times. His play-making abilities and set-piece brilliance can cause Stephen Constantine’s side many problems. Moreover, Greg Stewart has already netted two goals in this competition – against Indian Navy and Rajasthan United.

Did you know?

• East Bengal last won a game back on 19th January, 2022, against FC Goa.
• Mumbai City scored five past Rajasthan United. It was the highest-scoring game of Group B.
• East Bengal are the only team in Group B to concede the least goals (1) till now.

Telecast

The match will kick off at 6 pm IST. Sports18 – Sports18 1 SD & HD and Sports18 Khel (Hindi commentary) will telecast the game. It will also be streamed on Voot and JioTV.