ISL 2025-26: Oscar Bruzon confident ahead East Bengal FC vs Chennaiyin FC clash

Chennaiyin FC will host East Bengal FC at home.

East Bengal FC look to continue their winning run in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26 when they face off against Chennaiyin FC, on Saturday (11 April 2026) at the JLN Stadium, Chennai. The match is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, at 5 PM IST.

This will be East Bengal’s first away game of the season as well. Oscar Bruzon’s side started pretty well in this year’s ISL with two back-to-back wins on their home turf against NorthEast United FC and SC Delhi despite missing a few of their key players like Rakip, Mahesh, Saul Crespo and Kevin Sibille.

But they were defeated by Jamshedpur FC (2-1) and had to settle for draws against FC Goa and Kerala Blasters FC in their last three home games at the VYBK Stadium, Kolkata.

But just before the FIFA International break in March, somehow the Red and Gold Brigade have gained back their rhythm with a thumping 7-0 win against Mohammedan SC in the Kolkata mini-derby.

The match against Chennaiyin FC is now a chance for East Bengal to prove that they are here to compete. Their primary aim will be to fetch all three points and finish in the top half of the points table.

Ahead of the all-important clash, East Bengal FC head coach Oscar Bruzon and captain Souvik Chakrabarti addressed the media.

Here is a detailed report of the pre-match press conference between East Bengal FC and Chennaiyin FC

Oscar Bruzon on the first away game of the season

Oscar Bruzon shared his thoughts before his team’s first away game of the season and also analyzed his opponent, Chennaiyin FC.

He stated: “Good afternoon, everyone. Yes, this is our first away game of the season. Actually, it was one of our best games last season. We played with full determination and got all three points. Again, facing a team like Chennaiyin FC will be a challenge for us because they are the former champions of this league and have some very good players like Elsinho, Chima, Noguera, Irfan, Jiteshwar, and Pritam Kotal with a lot of experience in their bag. But we had faced them in the Super Cup in the recent past, where we dominated and were the better team as well. We were having a lot of difficulties before the FIFA International break due to injuries and all, but now the team is recovering well, and we are ready to take this challenge. We want to play our best game in the last seven matches and try to finish in the top half of the points table.”

“I don’t think it will be very difficult for us to adapt to the hot and humid conditions in Chennai and play a 5 PM game because at this time of the year, the weather in Kolkata is more humid than in Chennai. So, we would like to play to our strength and play some positive game of football,” he also added.

Injury update on Rashid

Oscar Bruzon said that injury is a part of the game, and Rashid is recovering quite well, and whether he will play or not will be decided on the match day.

“I know there are a lot of speculations regarding Rashid’s injury. It was an ankle twist. But I would like to say this injury is my fault, as I tell my players to play with full intensity during practice sessions as well. If you want to produce your A-game during the match, you have to be at your full intensity and show ambition during the practice sessions as well. Again, football is a body-contact game, so injury is part of the game. He is recovering really well. But we would not like to drop our intensity; it is our bad luck. This will go on like this throughout the season, but we will not sit back but fight with our full potential in our next seven games. And this is the time to show our spike, which we have been working on since July last year” Oscar added.

Improvement over the years

Oscar Bruzon analyzed how East Bengal has changed over the years and his team’s improvement as well amidst all the adversities.

He stated: “If we talk about East Bengal’s improvement, progress and change, the difference is very clear compared to last season. When I came here last year, the team was mostly reactive- we struggled to dominate matches and play consistently with a winning mentality. This season, there has been a big change in that mentality. Now East Bengal plays to win, not to avoid defeat- that is the biggest improvement. Of course, when you want to play attacking, dominating and exciting football, you have to take some risks. But our goal is clear- those who watch us in the stadium or on TV should feel proud of the way we play. It is our responsibility to give them positive and exciting football when they put in the time and effort to support us.”

Updates on Kevin Sibille and Jay Gupta

He stated, “I don’t want to disclose anything on this right now. But I can say most of the players in the team are fit and ready to play the match against Chennaiyin. And regarding Jay, he is capable of playing in different positions, and we also experimented with him a lot. He is also recovering well, got some rest during our last match against Mohammedan, so let’s see who is available for us during the match day, but everyone is very eager and almost fit to play the match against Chennai.”

Advantage of the International Break

Oscar Bruzon said that this kind of international break always gives a mental boost to the players during a highly competitive league like the ISL.

The gaffer said, ” Yes, this kind of International break in the middle of a highly competitive season gives you a lot of relief mentally and physically. It was really good for us as a team, a mental relief for our players. So this kind of break always has some advantages. During this time, we have worked on our tactics, game ideas and strategies really well. So we want to give our best in the last few matches of this year’s ISL. You will see a different East Bengal altogether, and we would like to play the next seven matches as the most important few matches of our lives. The team is focused and re-energised after the break.”

Souvik Chakrabarti expresses his thoughts on the league this year

Along with head coach Oscar Bruzon, one of the captains of the team this year, Souvik Chakrabarti, also answered a few questions from the media before the match against Chennaiyin FC.

He shared his thoughts on this year’s highly competitive league, but at the same time told that it is quite open for every team at present.

Souvik said, “Actually, this year the league is very short and highly competitive, but still open for any team. Even Mumbai will have to play some difficult matches going forward in the league. So losing points will cause problems in the latter half of the league; the time for recovery will be very little. We have to be very accurate in every game from here onwards. I have been playing for quite a few years now in the ISL, so I know that in this type of short league, the competition will get more intense game by game.”

“As we are left with only 6-7 matches, every match from here will be like a final match for us. It is really difficult for players to regain their concentration after the international break, so we might see some unexpected results. But I think if we can remain united on and off the field, then we can produce some positive results and bring back those good old days for the club. We don’t need to do anything special from here but just need to follow the plan of our head coach and play as a team.”

“As a professional player, I would like to play more matches for East Bengal, but the team’s performance and good results come first to me rather than my individual milestones. I always believe that as long as the team is winning, the individual achievements don’t count at all for me. So I would like to work hard on the training sessions and get more match time for myself.”

“Yes, mistakes are part of the game. We lost some vital points in some of the matches due to a lapse in our concentration in the last few minutes of the game. But again, it is a part of the league; opportunities will come when our team might not play well, but we will win. So that is important, we need to be focused and play game by game.”

“Every team in this year’s ISL will be tough to face, except Mohammedan, as they are without any foreigners. So the match against Chennaiyin will be a tough away challenge for us; we would like to produce some positive results for our fans by showcasing our full potential,” he finished off with.

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