Kibu Vicuna: We are in good mood for a 'special' derby

The Spaniard has denied his team has any sort of advantage going into the Derby.

Mohun Bagan will face East Bengal in a Kolkata Derby in the I-League on Sunday. After their merger with ATK that took place day before yesterday, Bagan would now be keen to elongate their stay at the top of the points table. Head coach Kibu Vicuna addressed the media ahead of the match and answered several questions. Regarding the morale of the team after the merger, he remarked, “We are coming from a good result. We are just focusing on tomorrow's game. The most important thing is to focus on the game. It is a very important game because we are playing against a very good team.” [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] He also emphasized on the thoughts presented by a journalist indicating that East Bengal might be the underdogs in this game. Kibu Vicuna stated, “Every derby is special. The dynamics of the two teams are different but in derbies everyone is equal. Not just Kolkata Derby but this is true around the world. We are in a good mood and we are focused on this match.” The encounter between both these teams was initially supposed to be played on December 22, 2019. However, the organizers had failed to get the security assurance from state police. Kibu Vicuna was probed whether they are better prepared to face East Bengal now than they were last month. He remarked, “Before that day we had won two games TRAU and Gokulam. After that we got good results. So it doesn't matter whether it was then or now. The team has changed a bit. We had Colinas then but he is not here. Now we have Diawara and Tursunov. We are trying every day to be a better team.” Regarding any injury concerns, he said, “Morante has a niggle but not serious and he will train today.” Baba Diawara is yet to score a single goal in the three matches he has played so far for the Mariners this season. The coach had some words about the striker too. “I don't doubt his abilities. He is a very good player. He has played for Sevilla. He needs to be patient and we need to be patient with him. They need time. When you come to a different team with different style it takes time. I am sure he will be an important player for us.”

Team News

Fran Morate is dealing with a niggle, but is expected to feature in the derby. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Predicted Lineup

Roy, Ashutosh, Morante, Cyrus, Gurjinder, Sahil, Gonzalez, Beitia, Naorem, Suhair, Diawara

Broadcast

D Sport will telecast the Kolkata Derby live on Sunday, January 19th, from 5:00 PM. The streaming will also be available on FanCode.