Antonio Lopez Habas: We are not sure whether David Williams will play

The ATK boss also spoke about his side's new additions Victor Mongil and Mandi Sosa.

ATK have the opportunity to consolidate their lead at the top of the Indian Super League(ISL) table when they host a rejuvenated Kerala Blasters side on Sunday. The team who defeated them on the opening game of the ISL season are no pushovers, but ATK’s sublime home form gives them the edge heading into the encounter. Ahead of the game on Sunday evening, ATK head coach Antonio Lopez Habas interacted in the pre-match press conference on Saturday. Antonio Lopez Habas spoke about how much his side has evolved since that day in Kochi and how his side is fighting to win the championship. He explained, “We are improving every day. That’s evidential. But we need more improvement to be the big team that I want. The first match against Kerala, the team had good behavior but they didn’t ask too many questions from the opposition. But now we’re in a good momentum, playing good football and have a good attitude. We are fighting every game to win the title at the end of the season.” [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] The big blow for ATK is that star striker David Williams is a doubt for Sunday's game after sustaining an injury in the win to Mumbai City FC. Antonio Lopez Habas spoke on how this could affect ATK but remained coy when explaining whether changes in the style of play will be made. He said, “We are not sure whether he(Williams) will play and we’ll assess his situation before the match to find out whether he can. Normally, I prefer to have my best players in the first XI. I don’t know about tomorrow. We can change or stick with the same style. But we’ll be playing to win.”

Thoughts On Victor Mongil & Mandi Sosa

The Spaniard also praised his new recruitments Mandi Sosa and Victor Mongil for adapting to the ISL standards quickly and giving strong performances. “I’m very happy with the new recruitments. They’ve adapted to the situation quickly and proven to be very good players. It’s very important to have important players like him,” Antonio Lopez Habas quipped. The ATK boss refused to bemoan all his injury worries and insisted that he’s thinking on winning Sunday’s game with whomever he has available. “I don’t want to cry. Because football is like this. We want to play every match with the players we have available. We have to feel good tomorrow and win with the players we have. I don’t want to waste my time thinking about the players who can’t play and focus on those who can help us win tomorrow,” Antonio Lopez Habas expressed. [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Mandi Sosa also accompanied his coach and talked up how the thought of reuniting with Wellington Phoenix team-mates Roy Krishna and David Williams convinced him to join ATK. He explained,  “The most important thing for me is when we meet, we know our game. For me that’s the key. When we talked, he told me to come here at ATK. The football style is the same as it was in the A-League. The objectives are the same. It’s to work hard and keep playing to win the games.”

Mandi Sosa On ATK's Indian Players

The midfielder also praised his Indian team-mates, especially having kind words for young upstart Sumit Rathi. He said, “I understand them personally. We have good Indian players and they make things easier for us. Pritam is a good player, Arindam is a good keeper and Prabir is everywhere. These players are crucial for us.” “Sumit is a good player. He has many good things and ideas within him. He’s a good defender and I think in a couple of years, maybe he can be selected for the Indian national team,” he concluded. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Team News

ATK have quite a few injury worries heading into the game. David Williams is a major doubt, while Pronay Halder is also unlikely to feature. Agus Garcia is serving his suspension, while Carl McHugh & Anas Edathodika are still injured.

Head To Head

ATK shares quite the eventful rivalry with the Kerala Blasters. The sides have faced off 13 times in ISL history, with the Kolkata giants defeating them four times, including twice in the final. Kerala has won three times, while the remaining six games have been stalemates.

Predicted XI

Arindam (GK); Prabir, Kotal, Mongil, Rathi; Sosa, Rane, Hernandez, Soosairaj; Jobby, Krishna.

Broadcast

The game will take place at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday. It will be telecasted live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. It will also be available to stream on Hotstar and Jio TV.