The defending champions are a win away from securing a place in the semi final of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015. Atletico de Kolkata will be hosting FC Pune City at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Saltlake Stadium) in match no. 48 of the ISL 2015 on Friday.
Atetico de Kolkata lost a bit of momentum midway through the ISL 2015. Having lost three matches on a trot, their confidence level kept on going down until coach Antonio Lopez Habas pumped his boys up. That helped them to resurrect their ISL 2015 campaign in no time.
They really have played outstanding football in their last few matches which have earned them good results. When a reporter had asked the coach about the magic figure, he had replied saying he wants all the points from the remaining encounters.
"It is going to be a difficult game and we have to play with maximum intensity and we have to respect the opponents. We lost 0-1 against Pune [earlier in the season]. We have to have maximum discipline and intensity in the game. They are going to play for classification too, so it's important for both sides. We need the home support and we are happy with the support we received against Goa," Habas told the mediapersons.
"Three points in the next game is the magic number, magic wand and magic everything. I don't want to talk about the future or the past. I want to talk about the here and now. My philosophy is that the team should have their feet on the ground. I have confidence in my players. The most important thing in football is the players. The coach can motivate the team but it's the players who do the job."
On the other hand, FC Pune City were off to a brilliant start in the ISL 2015 but their away form has been a point of concern right from the start of the tournament. Although they beat Atletico de Kolkata 1-0 in the first meeting of the ISL 2015, The Stallions' coach David Platt will be aware of the fact that it will not be a cakewalk against the defending champions on Friday. Platt was present at the stadium when Atletico de Kolkata tore apart FC Goa in their last game.
"I saw where they won 4-0 so they weren't very weak, were they? I think it's going be a difficult game. The period of time between our two games gave me the opportunity to watch them play and it's better to understand the opposition live rather than watching them on television," Platt told reporters at the press conference on Thursday.
"Of course, it's a challenge. They [ATK] have got two games left and we have got three. We are all even. Every game throws up a new scenario. ATK are in a very good run of form, in their own stadium. It's a challenge we look forward to. The league is tight, you get back-to-back wins and before you know it you are back into it."
Atletico de Kolkata have a good home record as of now and the crowd have come right behind their favourite team. The fans have really acted as the 12th man in the Saltlake Stadium and that somewhat revs up the quotient there in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, David Platt needs to find a way to stop the likes of Sameehg Doutie, who has already won the home side a couple of matches and Iain Hume. They have been extremely dangerous while lurking around the penalty box area and the FC Pune City defense cannot let these players breach their line of control.
Where to watch live:
Atletico de Kolkata vs FC Pune City is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (2:30 pm BST, 9:30 am ET) start. The channels in India that will show this ISL 2015 Match 15 live are Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3, Star Utsav, Star Gold (both Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jaya Max (Tamil), Suvarna TV (Kannada) and Jalsha Movies (Bengali). The ISL 2015 match can also be watched via live streaming online (free) in India, and over a 100 countries, on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
The viewers in the UK, South East Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong, can watch Atletico de Kolkata vs FC Pune City live on Star Gold, while the audience in Canada can watch the Indian Super League 2015 game live on CBN and ATN.
Eurosport will show the Indian Super League match live in Europe and South East Asia, while the Atletico de Kolkata vs FC Pune City match can also be live streamed on Eurosport Player. The viewers in Sub Saharan Africa can watch the ISL 2015 game live on Zuku and SuperSport.
Middle East and North Africa viewers will be able to catch the Atletico de Kolkata vs FC Pune City action live on OSN, with the live streaming option on OSN Play.
The viewers in the US and Australia can watch the ISL 2015 match between Kolkata and Pune live on Fox Sports, while the online live stream option is on Foxsoccer2go and Foxtel.
