India travel to Kathmandu to take on Nepal in the second leg of the 2018 World Cup pre-qualifier at the Dasarath Stadium.
The Blues Tigers will be bubbling with confidence ahead of this fixture, having beaten the Gorkhalis 2-0 in the first leg at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati five days ago.
Bengaluru FC striker Sunil Chhetri scored a brace to seal the game as a dominant India side did not allow Nepal to make any impact.
Despite creating a lot of chances in the first half during that game, they failed to capitalise on their chances and this resulted in the score remaining goalless at the break.
The Blue Tigers put in a much better performance in the second half, and their efforts were soon rewarded as Chhetri broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, before adding another in the 71st minute.
The Indian vice-captain had a very good chance to grab a hat trick when his side were awarded a penalty with ten minutes remaining on the clock, but his effort was saved by Kiran Chemjong.
However, all in all it was a good performance and head coach Stephen Constantine says that he was pleased with his side's performances in the first leg.
"We had a good home-match in Guwahati and as we face Nepal in the away match," the former Sudan boss told Goal.
Despite India having a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, the 52-year-old Englishman insists that the tie is not over and his side need to be "very, very careful" in Kathmandu.
"2-0 is a deceiving score-line I think and we have to be very, very careful," he added. "We have to be professional because if Nepal scores, the game changes. It's 2-0 and the game is still alive."
Constantine also feels that Nepal will be more confident in front of their home fans.
"When you play at home in front of your people and you wear the national colours, you are going to fight. Nepal are fighters since the beginning of time. So I expect Nepal to fight as they did in India."
"It was not an easy game for us in India. Maybe we should have scored one or two more but the fact is it is 2-0 and it is not an insurmountable challenge for Nepal. We have to be careful and play our game. Like I said the game is not over," he added.
Meanwhile, Nepal will also be hoping to reach the second round of the qualifiers even though they face an uphill task against India in the second leg.
Nepal coach Jack Stefanowski, who feels that the Gorkhalis got off to a good start in the first leg, admits that his side were beaten after not able to stick to their game plan as the match progressed.
"We had a good start but then we started going away from the plan we had in mind. That's something I have to take care of," Stefanowski told Goal.
However, the Polish-born boss insists that his side are "more confident" ahead of the second leg.
"We have been working on it for the last few days. I know the result (2-0 defeat) was disappointing but it also gave us confidence to turn Nepal into a good team. We had a few things to take care of and now we are more confident before the second match," he added.
Possible starting line up
India: Subrata Pal; Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Arnab Mondal, Saumik Dey; Francis Fernandes, Lenny Rodrigues, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Jackichand Singh; Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh.
Nepal: Kiran Chemjong, Biraj Mahajan, Sagar Thapa, Sandip Rai, Rabin Srestha; Rohit Chand, Bikram Lama, Jagajeet Srestha, Bhola Silwal; Bharat Khawas, Bimal Nagar.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 3.15 pm IST (3.30 pm NPT) start, with no live coverage in India. However, viewers in Nepal can catch the match live on Kantipur TV.
