Only two points separate debutantes Bharat FC from their rivals and a win for the home side tomorrow would see them leap frog their illustrious opponents from Kolkata. They go into the game with their confidence high after having tasted defeat just once in their last five games.
Bharat FC are looking to earn maximum points when they take on East Bengal in the I-League's 15th round clash in Pune on Wednesday after a good display against Pune FC last weekend.
Only two points separate debutants Bharat FC from their rivals and a win for the home side would see them leapfrog their illustrious opponents from Kolkata. They go into the game with their confidence high after having tasted defeat just once in their last five games. East Bengal, on the other hand, have endured a poor run, losing two games in succession against Mohun Bagan and Royal Wahingdoh.
While Bharat FC are eighth in the table with 11 points from 10 games, East Bengal occupy sixth place with 13 points. Bharat FC's head coach Stuart Watkiss is confident his side would put up a determined display and draw a lot of confidence from their performance in the Pune derby.
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"East Bengal is a very important game for us. They are a very good side and will come hard at us. However, I think the lads have shown that they have the potential to raise their game for big matches. Bharat FC was the more aggressive side in the Pune derby, constantly harrying the opposition, playing effective and quick football. We want more of the same on Wednesday," he said.
Mehrajuddin Wadoo would miss the clash after picking up two yellow cards in the previous match, while New Zealand international and the team's top scorer this season, Kris Bright, has recovered from the head injury that he sustained in the match against Pune FC. East Bengal would be without their first-choice goalkeeper Subhashish Roy Chowdhury due to a long-term injury. Abhijit Mondal would be guarding the goal.
Eelco Schattorie, East Bengal's head coach, said he expected a good, open match and a positive result would do wonders to his team's morale. "Bharat FC are a good side. They are very well organised defensively and threatening on the counter-attack. We need to guard against that. However, I believe that we have the ability and personnel to get us a positive result," he said.
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