AFC Champions League Two 2026-27: Player battles to watch out for in East Bengal FC vs Al-Shorta

The Red & Gold Brigade will aim for a clear win at VYBK

East Bengal are set to play their first home game of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two campaign when they host Iraqi giants Al-Shorta at the Salt Lake Stadium (Kolkata) on Tuesday, 13 October.

The Torchbearers were able to salvage a commendable point in their first match of the competition but are now looking to really assert their threat in the group by getting a big win over a tricky opponent.

Al-Shorta are currently on top of their group after being able to win their first AFC Champions League Two clash, and they’re looking to add to their run in the upcoming clash against the Indian Super League (ISL) giants.

The East Bengal vs Al-Shorta clash should feature some feisty battles on the pitch, and there are some particular duels that can be decisive in deciding which way the pendulum swings.

With both teams boasting influential players in key areas of the pitch, there should be a lot of back-and-forth in the duels between certain players.

Here, we look at the key battles that will be important in deciding who wins the upcoming AFC Champions League clash between East Bengal and Al Shorta.

3. Bipin Singh vs Ahmd Yahya

Bipin Singh is definitely a player with quite a lot of continental football experience, having played in the AFC competitions for Mumbai City in his career. He was surprisingly benched in the game against Al-Hussein recently, but Bipin seems poised to get a start in the upcoming clash against Al-Shorta.

Singh will need to be a menace in the wide areas, making good use of his surging forward sprints and getting the ball into the danger zones with his clever final third passes. However, Bipin can also expect a challenging task against Al Shorta defender Ahmed Yahya, who is himself a pretty rugged defensive asset capable of neutralising the threat of dangerous wingers.

Also Read: Most appearances for East Bengal in AFC competitions

Yahya will probably look to keep a close marker on Bipin, restricting his movement and ability to get into empty space in the final third. That puts the onus on Singh to be more unpredictable with his movement and ability to sneak into the empty spaces in & around the box.

Bipin will have to be clever with his work to outwit the Iraqi side’s defender and be able to impose himself on the game nicely to be able to amp up the creative threat for East Bengal.

2. Leonel Ateba vs Anwar Ali

Al-Shorta will be respectful of East Bengal’s threat at their own yard, but that doesn’t mean they will not be looking to take the fight to the hosts with some tricky attacking football. The Iraqi side’s frontline looks poised to be spearheaded by the Cameroonian striker Leonel Ateba, who was able to score 17 goals in the Iraqi Stars League for them in the 2025-26 season.

Ateba is desperate to open his goal account in the AFC Champions League Two this season and will be aiming to do that at the expense of the Indian side.

However, Ateba will definitely be facing a tricky test against India’s most reliable centre-back, Anwar Ali, in the upcoming clash. Ali was really solid in the draw against Al-Hussein recently, and has proven his capability of holding his own in battles against tricky foreign strikers. Ali will look to keep a tight marker on Ateba, neutralising his movement and making crucial challenges to frustrate him.

That means the Cameroonian forward will need to be at his unpredictable best against East Bengal, needing to be surprising with his movement and execution to be a threat to the East Bengal backline.

1. Dani Ramirez vs Cristian Barco

If East Bengal are to really take the fight to Al-Shorta in this upcoming AFC Champions League two-game clash, they’ll definitely need their midfield maverick, Dani Ramirez, to be at his best. It was Ramirez who scored their first goal and assisted the second against Al-Hussein, showing his quality in the tough AFC Champions League two game. He’ll need to replicate his heroics against Al-Shorta, but is definitely poised for a really tricky midfield battle against Argentine midfielder Cristian Barco.

The 25-year-old Al-Shorta man was instrumental in their win over Al-Seeb in their last continental clash, even providing the assist for the winner. Barco is naturally a defensive midfielder, and that means he’ll be the one to mark Ramirez and try to neutralise his threat in the final third.

Barco is going to try to be clever with his pressing on the Spanish midfielder, not allowing him much time on the ball to create chances or move East Bengal forward. That means Ramirez might need to tweak his playing style a little bit to outwit the Al-Shorta midfielder and continue being an influence in the attack.

The Spaniard has to be accurate with his final passes from key areas and needs to use his movement well to break past the marker of Barco & Co to get into better goal-scoring positions and finish off chances really well.

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