The fourth round of fixtures from the I-League continues today as the defending champions Bengaluru FC travel to Bengal to take on East Bengal in their first away match of the season at the Barasat Stadium.
After a slow start to the season, East Bengal managed to pick up two wins on the bounce and now they will be looking to stop a Bengaluru team, who have not lost since the opening day.
Also read: I-League 2017 complete fixture list
Bengaluru FC will be full of confidence leading up to this match after they managed to ease past Mumbai FC with CK Vineeth grabbing the headlines after he scored a hat trick. But Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca stated that East Bengal are a tough team and they will have to be better than before if they are to get anything from this match.
"It is true that we have won three games in a row but an away game changes things. East Bengal are a tough side with some very good players and we'll have to be better than we were before if we are to take anything away from this game."
"Every opposition plays a different game and as a coach, it's important to make sure that the best suited team is out there. Some of our players have played all three games at home but whether they start or not depends on the opposition and the game-plan," the I-League official website quoted Roca as saying.
Bengaluru FC will be without defender Sandesh Jhingan after he picked up a minor injury in training but Albert Roca feels his team depth in his team to cover for him.
East Bengal will fancy their chances this match after picking up two away wins in their previous matches but Coach Trevor Morgan said in an interview that this match will be the toughest test for them so far.
"On paper, this is our toughest game. It can be as tough as we can make or as good as we can make. It depends on our performance. The match is very important to us. We did not get to the best of starts which made the two away wins really important."
"Seven points from three games is ok. Tomorrow's a challenge for us and for the opposition. Hopefully we will be able to give them a stronger test tomorrow," Trevor Morgan was quoted as saying.
East Bengal will be without two key players in Anwar Ali and Arnab Mondal who are recovering from injuries, while Robin Singh will have a chance to shine against his old club when they clash later today with the striker saying: "My target is to get three points this time for East Bengal."
Where to watch
The match between Bengaluru FC and Chennai City FC is set to start at 4:30pm IST.
India: TV: Ten 2. Live Streaming: Ten Sports.
Live Score: Twitter
