East Bengal to face Pune FC today
It’s a “Do or Die” match for East Bengal. Coach Trevor James Morgan and his boys would be thinking a lot about their position in the league table. On the other hand, after surprising some big guns in the I-League so far in this season, the unpredictable Pune FC are also in the title race. East Bengal, who are now in the 2nd position, will certainly try their best to close the gap with leaders Churchill, who, despite a goalless draw against Mumbai FC, still remain on top with 38 points from 16 matches. Pune are now in the 4th position with 30 points from 15 matches.
The way East Bengal has started their I-League campaign this season, most people thought they might grab the I-League title. But as the season progressed, their performance graph has decreased slowly. East Bengal got a big blow in the last week, when they lost against leaders Churchill 3-0 on their home ground. As a result, they have no other option apart from winning today’s game. It is expected that East Bengal’s fourth foreigner, Andrew Barisic, will make his I-League debut beside Chidi in this match. But whether he plays the whole match or for some minutes will completely depend on Coach Morgan, as he admitted that Barisic is not completely match fit.
Meanwhile, Pune FC will try to take the revenge of their loss against East Bengal in the first encounter, where they lost 1-0. Pune has already received a lot of praise in this I-League after they had beaten Salgaocar, defending champion Dempo and Prayag United. Pune FC have an unbeaten home record in the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex against the Kolkata power-houses, and will certainly want to keep that record intact. Pune’s supreme striker, Jeje Lalpekhlua, is back from injury, and might play for sometime in this match. Overall, the match is going to be an interesting one.