Emotions will run high when Mohun Bagan clash with arch-rivals East Bengal in what will be the penultimate Kolkata Derby in the I-League between the traditional powerhouses of Indian football.
The oldest football club in India, Mohun Bagan, are all set to enter the lucrative Indian Super League from next season after their merger with ATK. But East Bengal are struggling to find new investors and their ISL entry is still not confirmed.
The passionate fans, who outnumber the seats on most occasions at the gigantic Salt Lake Stadium, will look to make the most of the last two I-League derbies -- in Sunday's first leg and the reverse fixture on March 15.
Both the teams, however, refrained from talking about the merger and the buzz around, instead of remaining focused on the match.
Also Read: Mohun Bagan Merges With ATK
On current form also Mohun Bagan will be on a high, leading the standings with 14 points from seven matches and will start overwhelming favourites against East Bengal, who are smarting from back-to-back losses to slip to fifth (eight points, six matches).
All You Need To Know About The Match:
Date: January 19 (Sunday)
Time: 5 PM IST
Venue: Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium), Kolkata.
TV Guide: DSport, Kolkata TV. DTH and MSOs Channel Info of DSPORT -- TataSky- 496 ; Dish TV - 630 ; Videocon D2H - 410 ; Fastway - 314 ; GTPL SD/HD - 312/150 ; Siti Digital - 483 ; Digi Cable - 406 ; Hathway - 183
Live Streaming: JioTV, FanCode. Facebook pages of DSPORT and I- League may also show live streaming of the match.
Standings: Mohun Bagan are the league leaders with 14 points from seven matches (four wins, two draws and one defeat), while East Bengal are placed fifth with eight points from six games (two wins, two draws and two defeats).
Prediction: On current form, Mohun Bagan should win the match.
Likely XIs
Mohun Bagan: Sankar Roy, Ashutosh Mehta, Fran Morante, Daneil Cyrus, Dhanachandra Leihaorungbam, SK Sahil, Fran Gonzalez, Shubha Ghosh, Joseba Beitia, V.P. Suhair, Baba Diawara
Manager: Kibu Vicuna
East Bengal: Laldanmawia Ralte, Kamalpreet Singh, Asheer Akhtar, Marti Crespi, Abhishek Ambekar, Lalrindika Ralte, Kassim Aidara, Juan Mera Gonzalez, Pintu Mahato, Jamie Santos Colado, Marcos de la Espada
Manager: Alejandro Menendez
