The first East India derby of ISL 2016 witnesses NorthEast United FC taking on Atletico de Kolkata at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Friday. Either team can go on top of the ISL 2016 points table with a win on the match day.
Currently, NorthEast United FC are second in the table with ten points from six games, while the Kolkata side are third with nine points from six games. Both sides are coming into the game at the back of a defeat.
Injuries are a concern for the home team as some of their key players are unavailable. Get all the team news ahead of the match here. The away side, too, are also concerned as their marquee player Helder Postiga is yet not fully fit to participate.
NorthEast United, after a crunch schedule with the start of the season, got a much-needed eight-day rest to fully recover from the fatigue. "You know after the game against Chennaiyin [on October 20], it was important to recover, especially mentally, not so physically," mentioned Nelo Vingada, head coach of NorthEast United FC.
"Now I can say that in this game our life will be football because it is a crucial game as it is the last game of the first round and they are a team which have nine points and it is a good game to achieve the points that we want, and of course I told the players that this game will be intense and I believe both teams are similar in many ways and I believe the determination, capacity, power and fighting spirit of the players will determine the result and I am trying to increase these qualities in the players," he added.
Atletico de Kolkata bagged their first defeat of the season against Mumbai City FC in their previous game and it remains to be seen if that hampers their confidence a bit or provokes them to put a better fight.
"It will be a tough game as they [Northeast] appear to be a well-drilled side," said ATK assistant coach Bastab Roy, filling in for the suspended Jose Molina. "It is a balanced side with good players in every position. We will play for the three points. If not three, then one point is also good enough."
Schedule
NorthEast United FC vs Atletico de Kolkata is scheduled to kick off at 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST) on October 28.
Where to watch live
India: TV - Star Sports 1/HD1, Star Sports 2/HD2, Star Sports 3/HD3.
Star Gold, Star Utsav (Hindi).
Jalsha Movies (Bengali).
Asianet Movies (Malayalam).
Asianet Suvarna Plus (Kannada).
Live streaming - Hotstar.
Europe: TV - Star Gold.
Australia, USA: TV - Fox Sports
Canada: TV - CBN, ATN Bangla
Bangladesh: TV - Channel 9
South-East Asia: TV - Eurosport
