ISL 2023-24: East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan: Preview, Predicted lineup, injury news, H2H, telecast details

Mohun Bagan will aim to solidify their ISL Shield aspirations going into the Kolkata derby.

East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will box gloves once again in the second Indian Super League (ISL) and the fifth Kolkata derby of the 2023/24 season on Sunday (March 10). A game with an unorthodox (8:30 PM) kick-off time, it might be the final time the two Kolkata heavyweights fight for bragging rights this season and one which both will treat like a final itself because of the potential rewards on the other side.

The Stakes

East Bengal

After suffering back-to-back losses in the Indian Super League, East Bengal’s top-six hopes are now barely hanging by a thread. Carles Cuadrat is well aware that his side needs to win at least three, if not the entire four remaining games to have a chance of participating in the ISL playoffs this season.

With their injury situation now better, East Bengal will look to up their tempo and play at a much higher level in the derby. They will need to be extra motivated and use their fans’ roar to their advantage in trying to end Mohun Bagan’s unbeaten run under Antonio Habas. A win can be a massive momentum booster for East Bengal heading into the final stretch of the league campaign and significantly restructure their playoff hopes, while another loss or a draw can move them far away from that sixth spot.

Mohun Bagan

While the Red & Gold Brigade are playing for a place in the playoffs, Mohun Bagan’s ambitions are at a higher level this season. The Mariners have witnessed their dreams of winning the first-ever ISL shield reinstated under Habas. Interestingly, one of the two teams to take points from Habas’ Mohun Bagan are their rivals.

Mohun Bagan will aim for revenge after failing to win that first ISL derby last month and maintain their positive form. They’ll have to take this challenge seriously and play like a trophy is at the end of it in order to get a big win. A win can move the Mariners closer to the top of the table and keep their shield winning dreams going strongly. While a draw or loss might not totally end those aspirations, it can be a momentum killer and cause major tensions to creep in before the end of the season.

Injury and Team  News

East Bengal will be missing right-back Mohamad Rakip, who is suspended for this game. Mohun Bagan are still without winger Ashique Kuruniyan, who is working on his recovery from knee injury. Deepak Tangri is suspended and will miss the game.

Head-to-Head

Total Matches – 396

Mohun Bagan wins – 128

East Bengal FC wins – 141

Draws – 127

Predicted Lineup

East Bengal (4-2-3-1)

Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Lalchungnunga, Aleksandar Pantic Hijazi Maher, Nishu Kumar, Saul Crespo, Souvik Chakrabarti, Ajay Chhetri, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Nandhakumar Sekar, Cleiton Silva

Mohun Bagan (3-1-4-2)

Vishal Kaith (GK), Anwar Ali, Hector Yuste, Subhasish Bose, Abhishek Suryavanshi, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Joni Kauko, Liston Colaco, Dimitri Petratos, Jason Cummings

Player to Watch

Cleiton Silva (East Bengal)

Cleiton Silva might have had his consistency issues this season, but there seems to be something that fires him up in matches like the Kolkata derby. So far this season, Cleiton has scored seven goals in the ISL and helped East Bengal win two games with his goals. He has scored three goals in as many Kolkata derbies this season, including a well-taken strike in the previous meeting.

Cleiton will hope to ignite that spark in his game against Mohun Bagan, getting into all the right pockets of spaces in the final third to destabilize their defensive line. He’ll need to get into those perfect positions inside the box and more important, finish off chances clinically to get among the goals again and spur his side to a positive result.

Dimitri Petratos (Mohun Bagan)

Dimitrios Petratos has found new-found energy under the system implemented by Habas and is excelling in the freedom that his floating role seems to be giving him. His form started picking up from the previous derby itself, as he has scored four goals in the six games under Habas – after scoring three in the eight matches prior to that. Petratos is causing havoc with his clutch finishing ability to track the movement of the ball in the right areas.

Despite having only one assist in the ISL this season, he remains a major threat from set-pieces and his crossing can cause a lot of trouble to East Bengal. He’s the man who thrives on the big occasions and will look to excel under pressure to be a menace for the Kolkata rivals, get into the best positions and be ruthless with his final product.

Did you know?

• East Bengal currently hold the advantage in the 2023/24 season’s Kolkata derbies, having won two of the four matches against Mohun Bagan.
• Manvir Singh has picked up five assists in the ISL so far this season, the highest for any Indian player in the division.
• Prabhsukhan Gill has kept seven clean-sheets in the ISL this season, just one fewer than current ISL Golden Glove leader Amrinder Singh.
• Mohun Bagan have conceded just four goals in their six matches under Habas, keeping four clean-sheets in that period.

Telecast

The East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan game kicks off at 8:30 PM IST, at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday, 10 March 2024. Live telecast of the fixture will be available on the Sports18 Network (Sports18 1/VH1 Channel). Live streaming of the game will be available on the JioCinema app. Viewers from abroad can use OneFootball to stream the game.

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