North East United take on FC Goa in their Indian Super League (ISL) season opener at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Monday.
When does the ISL 2018-19 match start and how to watch it live
North East United vs FC Goa will start at 7:30 pm IST and 3 pm BST.
Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream of the match will be available on Hotstar.
North East United vs FC Goa preview
North East United are the only side to have not reached the playoffs of ISL so far and that Highlanders would want to end the unwanted streak under new manager Eelco Schattories.
The Dutch tactician, who was assisting Avram Grant in the second half of their disappointing last season, has been given full control of the side.
North East had finished as the wooden spooners last season, having managed just 11 points from 18 matches. Their finishing left a lot to be desired as they managed just 12 goals.
North East bank on former PSG striker for goals
However, the arrival of former Paris Saint-Germain striker Bartholomew Ogbeche is expected to add firepower to their frontline.
Schattories is hoping the Nigerian forward is able to provide the spark that the team badly needed last season.
"We have Bartholomew Ogbeche in the scoring department. Last season he played in Holland and he scored promising goals at the highest level. But he will need to adjust to the conditions here in India. I hope he will score a lot of goals once he adjusts to the surroundings." the Dutch tactician said, as quoted by goal.com.
North East will be hoping to take confidence from their 2-1 win over FC Goa last season. It is not going to be easy for the hosts, considering their poorly-executed pre-season, during which their trip to Sweden was canceled.
Prefer to win a match 5-2 than 1-0: Lobera
Meanwhile, FC Goa are heading into the match on the back of winning all their six pre-season matches, including four during their Spanish trip.
Sergio Lobera continues as the head coach and the team has managed to retain the core members of their squad, including last season's top-scorer Ferran Corominas and midfielder Miguel Palanca.
On the other hand, the departure of winger Manuel Lanzarote over issues with Lobera comes as a big blow but the head coach is confident his side will be able to deliver positive results without their star player, who has joined ATK.
Narayan Das and Pronay Halder have also left the Gaurs but local star Lenny Rodrigues will add solidity to the midfield.
Lobera has insisted that Goa will continue playing attacking football but, at the same time, insisted the focus will also be on defensive discipline. The Gaurs hit a league-high of 42 goals last season but conceded the most among the teams that qualified for the semi-final — 28.
"It is the coach's job to try and improve as many things as he can within his team. We will definitely work on our defence this season," Lobera said.
"We have a team which is built to be offensive. I always prefer to win a match 5-2 than 1-0."
