Mohun Bagan Super Giant will start its continental campaign in the new season by taking on FC Ravshan Kulob of Tajikistan in the AFC Champions League Two’s opening group A league match at home in Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.
Follow the match live: Mohun Bagan vs Ravshan Kulob LIVE SCORE, AFC Champions League 2 updates
Having gained its spot in ACL Two as the Indian Super League (ISL) shield champion, Mohun Bagan will be looking to make the qualification count by making a positive start in the tournament.
The 135-year-old club will be look to draw inspiration from its legacy as it plans its approach against the visitor in their first-ever meeting.
The other two teams in the group are the Iranian side Tractor and Al-Wakrah FC of Qatar. The group league stage will be played on a home-and-away basis with the top two teams moving into the knock-outs (round of 16).
The season has opened up with a mixed bag of success for Mohun Bagan, which reached the Durand Cup final before losing the crown to NorthEast United FC in penalties.
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As it embarked on defending its ISL crown next, the visiting Mumbai City FC held it 2-2 at its very backyard to pose questions about the team’s defensive quality.
“The ACL 2 is a big competition. All the matches will be very difficult as all the teams here are quite good. But tomorrow, with our fans helping us, hopefully, we can have a good match and get our first three points from the group stage,” Mohun Bagan’s head coach Molina observed on the eve of the match.
The competition rules allow an unlimited number of foreigners in a side but Moilna may have a slight disadvantage as two of his six imports – Australian forward Jamie Maclaren and Spanish defender Alberto Rodriguez – are nursing injuries.
This would mean more responsibility for the Indian contingent, which Molina hoped will perform to its potential.
Mohun Bagan will have Manvir Singh (left) and Jason Cummings as two potent options in attack for its AFC Champions League 2 clash. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“We are still in doubt about Jamie Maclaren and Alberto, who got injured in the last match. He suffered some problems, we will see about that in training. The rest of them, Tom (Aldred), Dimi (Petratos), Jason (Cummings) and Greg (Stewart) are all available. It
doesn’t matter if all foreigners are starting or not, I’ll try to put the best squad possible for tomorrow’s match,” Molina said while giving an update on the list of injuries.
Mohun Bagan possesses one of the best selection of Indian players, including the likes of Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Anirudh Thapa, Samad Abdul Samad, Subhasish Bose and Asish Rai and Molina will be hoping to make a match out of it.
“We always look to play with good intensity and try to dominate matches, to score goals and win the matches. We have to try and suffer as little as possible in every match,” Molina added.
The Spanish coach observed that the pre-season preparation has not been enough for Mohun Bagan and the team is yet to settle down to a rhythm.
The team has already signed Portuguese defender Nuno Reis to bolster its backline but the player won’t be available against Ravshan as he is yet to join the squad.
As for the opposition, FC Ravshan qualified for ACL Two by finishing runner-up in the Tajikistan Higher League in the previous season. Much like Mohun Bagan, the Tajik side has played regularly in the AFC Cup (the previous name of ACL Two) while achieving a moderate level of success.
Ravshan head coach Mami Nazarzadeh Masud said that his side will face a bigger challenge as the opposition will be more fresh having just started the league while his players will be comparatively tired as the league at home is half way through.
“They (Mohun Bagan) have only played one game. They are fresh and in the best condition, while we are in the middle of our league. We are a bit more tired than them. Still, we will try to achieve a positive result and go for victory,” Masud said ahead of the match.
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