East Bengal vs FC Goa Preview, predicted lineup, injury news, H2H, telecast details | ISL 2024-25

Carles Cuadrat’s East Bengal desperately needs a win after two losses.

East Bengal are determined to get their first victory of the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign when they host a stuttering FC Goa side at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday (27 September).

The Red & Gold Brigade are under immense pressure to finally get some points on the board, but face an FC Goa side who are themselves in desperate search for a win. An intriguing, end-to-end clash could ensue at the Salt Lake Stadium with both sides eager to end their early-season woes.

The Stakes

East Bengal

Carles Cuadrat is facing pressure from the East Bengal faithful after his side’s disappointing start to the season and the manner of their recent defeats. Fortunately for the Spaniard, this is still early season and his side’s momentum can change with one decisive win. East Bengal will have a devoted East Bengal crowd behind them on their home turf and Carles Cuadrat will urge the players to take in the positive energy of the supporters to fuel their performance.

He’ll need his players to be much more clinical in finishing their chances and also maintain the utmost concentration throughout the game. A big win can be a breath of fresh air to give the squad the lift it needs to push for consistency, while a draw or defeat can pile on even more questions on the Kolkata giants.

FC Goa

Manolo Marquez has realized that juggling between the FC Goa and India national team job won’t be an easy task, with his FC Goa side starting the season in an underwhelming fashion. The Spanish gaffer needs to reinvigorate the spirits of his players, getting them to be more confident in compiling beautiful attacking moves and being more decisive in the final third too.

FC Goa has to tap into their irresistible rhythm in building up beautiful attacking moves, but also be defensively stronger than they’ve been in recent games. Manolo Marquez needs a win to kick-start his side’s quest to compete for top places because more points loss can add to the frustration of the fans and leave them toiling in the bottom places.

Injury & Team News

East Bengal

The Red & Gold Brigade might miss striker Dimitrios Diamantakos due to a slight issue. Nishu Kumar and Provat Lakra remain in question due to injury problems. The Torchbearers’ midfielder captain, Saul Crespo, is also down with dengue and will miss the game against FC Goa.

FC Goa

Sandesh Jhingan and Iker Guarrotxena remain doubts for the Gaurs.

Head-to-Head

Matches Played – 8

East Bengal wins – 1

FC Goa wins – 5

Draws – 2

Predicted Lineups

East Bengal (4-3-3)

Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Mohammad Rakip, Anwar Ali, Hector Yuste, Mark Zothanpuia; Jeakson Singh, Souvik Chakrabarti, Madih Talal; PV Vishnu, Nandhakumar Sekar, Cleiton Silva

FC Goa (4-2-3-1)

Laxmikant Kattimani (GK); Udanta Singh, Odei Onaindia, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Jay Gupta; Rowllin Borges, Borja Herrera; Boris Singh, Dejan Drazic, Brison Fernandes; Armando Sadiku

Players to Watch

Madih Talal (East Bengal)

Madih Talal has had a slow start to his East Bengal career, finding the transition from Punjab FC to be not so easy. He’s produced some underwhelming performances, but a few bad games don’t take away his immense quality in the final third.

Talal had 16 goal contributions (six goals, 10 assists) in the ISL last season and just needs one big game to rediscover his confidence and swagger. Talal just needs to be a bit more composed with his distribution and improve his decision-making with the final third passes.

He won’t find it easy against a compact FC Goa side, but Talal needs to use his clever off-the-ball movement ability as well as his creative touches to unlock the Gaurs’ backline.

Talal might get confidence from having thousands of fans cheering for him in his new home ground and will look to lift his teammates with his slick passes to create big chances as well as well as timing his runs better to get back to scoring ways.

Brison Fernandes (FC Goa)

Brison Fernandes has been one of the standout players for FC Goa in the early game and has proven to be a menacing figure in the wide areas. Not only is he a menace with his impressive sprints and dribbling ability, but Fernandes has proven to be quite the creative threat for his side too. He has created four goal-scoring chances so far this season, more than any other teammate and proven to be a decent Brandon Fernandes replacement.

Brison will look to finally get his first goal contribution by tormenting the East Bengal backline with his persistent forward runs and keep delivering inviting balls into the final third. He also needs to get himself into more scoring positions to elevate his side’s attacking prowess and get his side their first win of the season.

Did you know?

• East Bengal won four of their 11 home matches in the ISL last season.
• All three goals FC Goa have conceded so far this season have come in the second half.
• The last time East Bengal had defeated FC Goa in the ISL was in the 2021-22 season.

Telecast Details

The East Bengal vs FC Goa clash will take place at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Friday (27 September). It will kick off at 7:30 PM IST. The match will be shown live on Sports 18 and streamed online on Jio Cinema. International viewers can also watch the game on the OneFootball app.

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