Shillong Lajong will take on East Bengal in an I-League encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Sunday. This is a must-win game for the North-East outfit as they face serious relegation threat.
Shillong Lajong, which is the youngest side in this I-League, are languishing at the bottom of the points table with 15 points from as many games.
They are in a relegation battle along with DSK Shivajians and Mumbai FC. A win in this match against the Kolkata giants will help them avoid relegation. Even if Lajong manages to draw this game with East Bengal, they will stay in the hunt for the next season.
"We can't lose tomorrow. It's on me and the players to go out there and do the job. We will be playing the most important game of the season. We need to keep clean sheet as we have players who can and have been scoring," Shillong Lajong coach Thangboi Singto was quoted as saying by IANS.
"We need to stay compact and strong at the back. I am expecting the forwards to strike and give us goals. It will be a tough game and we need to believe in our team abilities. But we cannot lose on Sunday. We need to win the match."
Meanwhile East Bengal will want to win this match and their season on a high. This has been yet another disappointing year for the Red and Gold brigade as they could not break their jinx of not winning the I-League ever since its inception.
"Both sides need to win for different reasons. The players have been fantastic, and we are hopeful of a win tomorrow," East Bengal's newly-appointed coach Trevor Morgan said ahead of their game against Shillong Lajong.
Where to watch live
I-League: Shillong Lajong vs East Bengal is scheduled to kick-off at 7:05 p.m. IST (1:35 p.m. GMT), April 24.
Viewers in India and the rest of the subcontinent can catch the game on Ten 2 (Ten Action).
Online streaming will be available on tensports.com.
Live scores of the match can be found on the I-League twitter handle.
