Defending I-League champions Mohun Bagan will be looking to closing the distance between themselves and arch-rivals East Bengal with a favourable result against Mumbai FC at the Cooperage Stadium on Wednesday.
Mohun Bagan are currently third in the I-League table with three wins and no losses from their four games, and are four points behind East Bengal, who went atop the table after a massive 4-0 win over Shillong Lajong on Tuesday.
Bagan may look the favourites on paper against Mumbai FC, but Sanjoy Sen knows that Khalid Jamil's side cannot be underestimated. Mumbai FC defeated title contenders Bengaluru FC 2-0 recently, and are currently only a place behind Bagan in fourth.
"We are expecting a very tough game against Mumbai FC. It is never easy to play them here [at Cooperage] and this time, it will be no different," Sanjoy Sen was quoted by the official I-League site.
"We know Mumbai FC can defend well, but this year they have some very good attacking players like Arata Izumi, Eric Brown and Sushil Singh and we will have to be careful of that threat,."
What will work against Mumbai FC is the fact that have not been able to pick up a win over the Mariners in their last ten games; their last victory over Mohun Bagan came in 2009-10 season. Indian midfielder Jayesh Rane, who is a key part of the Mumbai FC side, is unavailable for the game as he is plying his trade in the ongoing South Asian Games 2016.
Also, the availability of Japanese playmaker Taisuke Matsugae remains in doubt.
"Of course, we will miss Jayesh as he is a regular starter for us, but we have replacements like Malemnganba Metei who can take his place and do the job for us," Jamil sounded positive. "They [Mohun Bagan] are a very good side with quality players. Plus, their form is also quite good, so we have to be at the top of our game to get a victory against Mohun Bagan," Khalid Jamil added.
Balwant Singh, Rehenesh and Pritam Kotal are the notable absentees for Mohun Bagan.
Where to watch live
Mumbai FC vs Mohun Bagan is scheduled to kick-off at 7:05 pm IST (6:35 pm PST, 1:35 pm GMT) on Wednesday, 10 February.
In India (and the rest of the Asian subcontinent), viewers can catch the game on Ten Action. Online streaming will be available on tensports.com.
Viewers in Germany, Austria, Russia, Switzerland and Gerogia can catch up with the game with online streaming will be available on LAOLA1.
Other countries can follow the I-League live scores on the I-League twitter handle.
