An injury-riddled Mohun Bagan Super Giant will be resuming its efforts to find a place in the AFC Cup knock-out round after the international break when it meets Odisha FC at home in Salt Lake Stadium here in a Group D league match on Monday.
With two rounds remaining, the four-team group action is poised interestingly with Mohun Bagan SG (currently on seven points from four outings) required to win both its matches to ensure a passage to the next round. The Kolkata outfit is tied on points with Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh but is placed second in the table on the head-to-head count for having lost to the latter at Dhaka earlier in the month. The upcoming match becomes crucial for both the opponents as Odisha FC also has a chance to qualify being separated by a point from the top two sides.
“It will be an important match as both the teams have the opportunity to be in the next round, so it is going to be a tough match. They have very good players, but our target is to win and better our chances,” said the MBSG coach, Juan Ferrando.
What is worrying the host is the injury to at least four of its key players. After winger Ashique Kuruniyan was ruled out for a long time earlier, MBSG saw centre-back Anwar Ali and forward Manvir Singh also becoming unavailable owing to injuries. Even Dimitri Petratos is doubtful for the match, which would mean that Bagan will not be able to utilise the full quota of foreigners in case the Australian striker is ruled unfit. Mohun Bagan had registered a comfortable 4-0 win against Odisha while visiting the latter in the first round of the group league action.
