Kolkata, Sept 26 (UNI) East Bengal FC will take on FC Goa in their first home game of the Indian Super League 2024-25 season, at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan here on Friday.
The Red & Gold Brigade put up a valiant fight in their 2-1 defeat against Kerala Blasters FC, whereas FC Goa drew 1-1 against Mohammedan SC in Kolkata in Matchweek 2.
East Bengal FC will aim to secure consecutive home victories as the club had emerged triumphant by 2-1 against Bengaluru FC when they last played an ISL game here in April this year.
If they manage to salvage a win from this contest, it will become not only their first consecutive home win in the competition but also their first opening home game victory ever since their inception to the league.
FC Goa has managed to score in each of their eight ISL games against East Bengal FC, though they’ve only kept one clean sheet in these meetings. The only other team they have consistently scored against in every game is Odisha FC (10 games).
In the last four fixtures, FC Goa have always outwitted them to sneak away with the three points. Moreover, FC Goa have always scored in this fixture.
However, a minute sign of worry for Manolo Marquez might be that the Gaurs have only one clean-sheet against the Red & Gold Brigade throughout the entirety of their rivalry.
East Bengal FC have scored once in the past two fixtures despite boasting a frontline of Dimitrios Diamantakos, Naorem Mahesh Singh and Nandhakumar Sekar. Their solitary goal-scorer so far is PV Vishnu, who came on in the second half against East Bengal.
Notably, against Kerala Blasters, East Bengal registered more shots on target (4) compared to the home side, however the efficiency was missing.
Head coach Carles Cuadrat shed light on the same and how he’s confident that his team will overcome this hurdle.
“We have been working a lot on converting chances. We have been training a lot of days on how to make the right pass and right finishing. It’s a question of quality, technique, and the good decision at the right moment. And we’re working on that. I’m sure that the guys are going to improve with training,” he mentioned.
Manolo Marquez is concerned about his team not being able to register victories. After winning the Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy, fans expected the Gaurs to start the ISL on the front foot. However, in two games, Marquez’s side registered only a point.
The Spaniard shared his concerns, “We are not in a good moment, especially mentally. It’s not a problem physically or technically because we know the kind of players that we have. But the team seems tired.”
“We have to prepare for the physicality of the game. With the players that we’ve, there’re no excuses. We will fight hard, be competitive, and try to take three points from the game in our stadium tomorrow,” said Carles Cuadrat.
East Bengal’s Naorem Mahesh Singh has the most goal contributions in this fixture. He has three goals and two assists. However, he has struggled for form in 2024, contributing only to one game with 2 goals against Kerala Blasters FC in April 2024.
FC Goa’s Armando Sadiku has scored in both of his last two games in the ISL, a first for him. He shares this feat with Gregory Arnolin. If he scores tomorrow, he’ll become the first FC Goa player to net in each of their first three appearances.
Manolo Marquez is unbeaten against Carles Cuadrat in their last three meetings – two wins and a draw.
