Kolkata: Despite Odafa Okolie yet to attain full match fitness, Mohun Bagan will look for their maiden win in the I-League when they take on Sporting Clube de Goa here Saturday.
Having attained about 80 per cent match fitness, the Nigerian striker had some niggle during their practice yesterday as Mohun Bagan would look to exploit the home advantage fully. Mohun Bagan have registered only two draws in their first three matches but all of them were away fixtures so the green-and-maroon brigade would be keen for three points from tomorrow's fixture.
The Kolkata giants suffered their first defeat of the season in the last round as they were beaten 0-2 by Pune FC with Nigerian central defender Echezona Anyichie being sent off. Anyichie thus will be ruled out of tomorrow's encounter and Karim Bencherifa may have some selection issues. Bencherifa, who won the I-League with Salgaocar in 2010-11 despite having a modest squad, said his players were confident.
"We have a lot of new players in the squad this time and are missing some important ones for this match but we are focused on getting the right result against Sporting Clube," Bencherifa said.
Sporting Clube, on the other hand, would play after a two-week break as the home side would fancy their chances.
The Goans had a 1-0 away win at Shillong as they have four points from three matches with a loss to United SC here. Nigerian midfielder Ogba Kalu Nnanna would once again hold the key while Joseph Pereira, who completed 10 years with the side, would look to inspire the team.
In another encounter, Pune FC will look to build upon their unbeaten run as they square-off with Churchill Brothers SC in an I-League Round-5 match at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Mhalunge-Balewadi, here Saturday. Pune FC (7 points) enjoys second place on the table after having their best start ever. In contrast, Churchill Brothers (2 points), positioned nine places lower, will seek a change in fortune on the morrow.
The visitors, so far, have been disappointing. In four games, they scored just one goal which is not quite the credo they could boast off. In fact, the results have had its toll with Technical Director Sukhwinder Singh resigning earlier this week, a few months after joining. Churchill Brothers have brought in Subhash Bhowmick, the experienced TD who had led them to their second league title last season.
Pune FC Coach Mike Snoei said: "They are a team who is currently struggling, but definitely a team that plays for trophies. Moreover, when a team fires a coach there always is a new beginning with new energy." The Goans have made a host of changes to their squad with a number of players from the title-winning side moving out.
Portuguese playmaker Hugo Machado, an ex-Sporting Lisbon youth product, will be the player dictating the tempo in attacking areas, while Indian medio Lenny Rodrigues pulls the strings from deeper. New foreign arrivals - Nigerian Hammed Adesope and Syrian Al Kaddour, along with Gabonese striker Henri Antchouet and retained defenders D Ravanan, Denzil Franco, Raju Yumnam and winger Bineesh Balan will form the core of the team.
They will be supported by fellow Indian signings winger Anthony Pereira, striker Balwant Singh and 'keeper Arindam Bhattacharya. On the other hand, the hosts go into the crucial game on the back of a 2-0 home win over Mohun Bagan and they are high on confidence.
Two wins and a draw in the opening three games means that Pune FC's unbeaten run now stretches to eight matches (7 wins and 1 draw) from last season.
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