KOLKATA: Kingfisher East Bengal have a golden opportunity to get level on points with Dempo at the top of the I-League table, when they play Prayag United in the 18th round encounter at the Yuba Bharati Krinangan in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Red and Gold would be without the services of Sushant Matthew, who is out due to suspension while Robin Singh, Robert Lalthalma, Naoba Singh and Nirmal Chettri are still nursing injuries.
East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan said “Prayag United are a quality side and this could be seen from their position in the league as well as their victory against Mohun Bagan last week.”
When asked about the consistency of his team in the current campaign Trevor Morgan said “If you look at the table almost every team can spring a surprise. So it’s not about inconsistency but a very competitive league. Pune FC who are on a good run and have not lost a match since last few rounds. The other day HAL scored a two goal victory over Chirag Kerala and Sporting Clube have put together a good string of results,” he reiterated.
For Prayag United they will be heavily dependent on local players for this match as most of their foreigners look doubtful. Yusif Yakubu is yet to return back while Brasilian striker Joshimar da Silva Martins who is nursing an ankle injury looks doubtful. Bello Razaq and Kayne Vincent are also unlikely to start as they did not practice at the last practice session.
Sanjoy Sen when asked about his thoughts for the upcoming clash said “East Bengal are a good team and even on a bad day can get the result they require.”
East Bengal stays at 34 points from 17 matches while Prayag United are not far behind with 29 points from 17 matches.
Head to Head in I League
Total Matches - 7
East Bengal Won - 3
Prayag United Won - 1
Drawn - 3
East Bengal Goals - 8
Prayag United Goals - 5
Meeting in the First Leg
Prayag United – 1 (Yusif Yakubu) d/w East Bengal - 1 (Baljit Singh Sahni)
From the History Book
East Bengal - 330th Match in I League/NFL and have so far scored 476 goals.
Prayag United - 92nd Match in I League and have so far scored 111 goals.
B.Bekhokei (East Bengal) and Yusif Yakubu (Prayag United)have scored the maximum of 2 goals in matches between the two teams.
East Bengal is unbeaten in the last four matches against Prayag and have won both their fixtures against them this season, in the Federation Cup (2-1) and Kolkata Premier League (3-0)
Tolgay Ozbey (12 goals) for East Bengal and Yusif Yakubu (8 goals) Prayag United are leading scorers of the respective clubs in this year's I League.
Chirag United to face Mohun Bagan
KOCHI: The time is running out for Chirag United Kerala to turn their season to their favor; their latest fail came on Saturday as they gifted HAL Bangalore their first win of the season. They now are up against title aspirants McDowell Mohun Bagan in the 18thround I-League
encounter at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi on Tuesday.
The Mariners are also on a dry run of their own, losing three of their last five matches that might have slimed their chances of winning the league this season. Though they returned to the winning ways in the last round against Pailan Arrows, Prasanta Banarjee would call for a confidence boosting performance from his team against Chirag prior to the all-important Kolkata derby coming on the weekend.
Chirag Kerala who are on a three match losing streak, would like to turn the tide and won’t be complaining even if they could garner a single point against the star studded Bagan line up.
The Maroon Brigade would be fielding Odafa Onyeka Okolie and Sunil Chhetri upfront along with Jose Ramirez Barreto. NP Pradeep and defender Dhanarajan R would be there in the starting lineup for Chirag United.
“Mohun Bagan is a very tough team to beat as they have quality players, but we have a home advantage and we will be out to win the match and secure all the points on avail,” said Chirag's Sri Lankan coach Packir Ali.
Chirag have 11 points from 16 matches while their opponents have 30 points from 17 matches, seven points adrift league leaders Dempo SC.
The kick off is slated for 06:30 PM on 31/01/2012.