Bottom-placed East Bengal FC will make one more attempt to notch their first win of the season when they take on NorthEast United FC in their eighth match of the Indian Super League (ISL) season here on Friday.
After losing six straight matches, East Bengal opened their account with a goalless draw against Mohammedan Sporting on November 9 in a Kolkata Derby. They will now want to take one step forward and clinch all three points in front of their home crowd at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
The Highlanders, on the other hand, have been in an impressive form this season, as they are currently placed at third with 15 points from nine games, thanks to four wins and three draws.
They have scored 21 goals, conceding only 15, and have lost merely once in their previous five matches. They trail the top-placed Bengaluru FC (20) by five points — a gap they will be confident of bridging, given how they have been managing to put the pieces of their jigsaw together of late.
The two sides have faced each other eight times, with NorthEast United and East Bengal FC emerging victorious in four and two matches respectively. A couple of fixtures have resulted in a draw.
NorthEast United have been on an unbelievable run recently, winning thrice and drawing once in their previous four encounters. Avoiding a defeat in Friday’s clash will make it their longest-ever unbeaten sequence since going 11 matches without a loss from January-March 2021.
East Bengal FC head coach Oscar Bruzon acknowledged that NorthEast United will play on the frontfoot in this fixture, but assured that the home team has done its homework properly.
“I don’t think NorthEast United FC is going to come here to neutralise our attacking power, but they are coming to try and score more goals themselves,” Burzon said.
“That’s what I know from what they have been doing in the last games with their frontline. We will try to play our best game, and win the match,” he added.
NorthEast United head coach Juan Pedro Benali mentioned that maintaining a fine balance between their offensive instincts and defensive discipline will be critical in this match.
“Each game is a different story. We need to make big chances to score and at the same time make it equally difficult for them to do so. That’s our objective, because we know we can score and that’s a very important part (of our gameplay),” Benali said.
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