KOLKATA: Winless in their last eight Indian Super League (ISL) games, NorthEast United will be up against a resurgent East Bengal when the two sides meet at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati to kick off the double header on Saturday.
NEUFC are eighth on the table with 13 points from 13 games while East Bengal have a point less from 11 games. Both have won only two games each so far. NorthEast are one of the many competitors for the sixth playoff spot and are just a point behind Bengaluru FC (14), who have also played a game more (14) than NEUFC.
Though the visitors are a rung below the Highlanders on the table, the red and golds have enjoyed Super Cup success and an ISL draw with arch-rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant in between. Interestingly, East Bengal also secured their biggest ever ISL win when they beat NEUFC 5-0 in the reverse fixture at the Salt Lake stadium earlier this season.
The hosts however will be eager to disrupt the momentum of East Bengal on their home turf. Juan Pedro Benali-coached NorthEast resumed their league campaign after the mid-season break with a 1-1 draw at Jamshedpur FC as Mohammed Ali Bemammer scored a second-half equalizer from well outside the box.
Benali though must set up his strategy in a way to thwart East Bengal’s current attacking prowess besides opening the avenues for their scoring opportunities. “We had problems scoring in only two games in ISL so far, which was against EB away from home and against Mohun Bagan in Guwahati. We keep ourselves stronger defensively and have always scored, and we will be trying to do that more than the other team tomorrow,” Benali said in Guwahati on Friday.
Meanwhile, East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat, who is high on confidence following their Super Cup exploits in Bhubaneswar, said ahead of the game, “We are trying to have a team that can fight for being in the higher statures of ISL. We’ve been in two finals until now and shown against the champions of the last season, like Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City and Odisha that we can win games against them and put them in trouble.”
