The biggest derby in Indian football is upon us again as East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan takes the spotlight in the I-League on Tuesday.
They don't make them much bigger than the Kolkata Derby in India, and the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata will be packed to the seams for the first big derby of this season.
The match was scheduled to be played in the second round of the I-League, but owing to schedule problems, it had to be postponed, with the derby finally set for Tuesday, just two days after East Bengal played out a 1-1 draw with Bharat FC.
Two days is never enough to properly recover for a match, let alone the biggest derby in India, and that will be the problem that East Bengal will have to overcome when they take on a better-rested Mohun Bagan.
"All the boys know the importance of the game and we are ready for it. The recovery period was short but it would not matter," East Bengal skipper Harmanjot Khabra told I-League's official website.
"The derby is a different game and I have very fond memories of the same particularly the aborted match in December 2012 when I scored the winner."
East Bengal are fifth in the fledgling I-League table at the moment with eight points from five matches, while Bagan are a point behind, having played two games less.
"I never realised the derby fever until I came to Kolkata," said East Bengal coach Armando Colaco, who has been tipped to leave the club after this biggest of games. "We will be fully prepared for the Derby and go all out to garner maximum points."
While tiredness will be a problem for EB, they do not have too many injury worries, with only Saumik Dey set to miss out, while Milan Susak and Leo Bertos are set to return,
Mohun Bagan will have to do without the services of goalkeeper Shilton Paul and fullback Sauvik Ghosh, with Debjit Majumder and Dhanchandra Singh likely to be the replacements.
The other team news question is if Mohun Bagan's marquee foreign signing Pierre Boya will get a look-in from the start after making his return to fitness.
Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen was keeping his cards close to his chest when it came to the starting XI that will take the field against East Bengal.
"Boya is fit but I have not decided whether he will be in the first XI," said Sen.
"I think the boys are ready for the challenge. Three points in an I-league match is the bigger aim and we will try to win the match to maintain our good start."
Where to Watch Live
The Kolkata Derby is scheduled for a 7 pm IST start with live coverage in India on Ten Action, Focus Bangla and Focus North East. East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan can also be watched via live streaming online on Ten Sports Live.
