Kolkata giants East Bengal will be playing host to Aizawl FC in an I-League clash at the Kalyani Municipality Stadium here on Friday.
The club has been left languishing in the realms of mid-table, having lost four of their last five fixtures.
Their centenary year hasn’t gone according to the plan until now and if East Bengal are to get back to at least surmounting a challenge for the title, a winning run of form cannot be put on hold any longer.
“It’s been a complicated season, but that’s football. It’s not easy to win always, but we have to regain our confidence to get back to where we were last year,” said East Bengal midfielder Jaime Santos Colado ahead of the game.
The hosts will be without the services of Marcos Jimenez De La Espada, who was sent off in the dying seconds during their defeat to Indian Arrows, which might pave the way for Ansumana Kromah to make his first start since returning to the club.
On their Friday opponents, Colado opined: “Aizawl are a physical team with very clear ideas. It will be another difficult game for us but we are ready.”
The Mizoram outfit, however, have problems of their own. They are tenth in the standings, halfway into the season and are now in a race to avoid the dreaded drop.
“East Bengal are a good side any day, even when things aren’t going their way. They are a big team, with some great players. There’s still half a season left to play. They can do the impossible,” voiced Alfred Jaryan, captain, Aizawl FC.
The former I-League champions will be travelling to Kalyani in a bid to avoid three defeats on the trot but with the Red and Golds running through a crisis of their own, it could account for a nervy battle between two sides desperate for nothing less than a win.