ISL 2023-24: East Bengal hosts Hyderabad FC while searching for first win of the season

Having played out an insipid goalless draw against Jamshedpur FC in its first outing, East Bengal will hope to give its fans something to cheer for by producing a more exciting brand of football.

East Bengal is looking to come out of the disappointment of the previous three ISL seasons, where it always finished in the bottom three of the league standings. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports/ISL

East Bengal FC will aim to win its first match of the Indian Super League (ISL 2023-24) season when it takes on the former champion Hyderabad FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.

Having played out an insipid goalless draw against Jamshedpur FC in its first outing, East Bengal will hope to give its fans something to cheer for by producing a more exciting brand of football.

The visitor will also be looking to start its ISL campaign on a positive note. Hyderabad FC is going through a rebuilding phase as a number of players left its stable after the departure of its previous coach Manolo Marquez, and it becomes important for its new head coach in Ireland’s Conor Nestor.

“We have to be ready for a close game. I am not agreeing that the conversion rate of our team is poor. The important thing is to create chances, and the team is creating chances. It is a new season, [with] new players, [and] new transfers, and we do not have much information about the opponent. The style of football we are playing has to work,” said the East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat, before the match.

What may be bothering Cuadrat, who helped Bengaluru FC win the ISL crown in 2019, is the fact that East Bengal has been flattering to deceive after making a promising start in the season.

East Bengal is looking to come out of the disappointment of the previous three ISL seasons, where it always finished in the bottom three of the league standings.

Cuadrat is insisting on changing the performance dynamics of East Bengal, which so far has partially achieved it in the season - having won four, drawn twice and lost once in a total of seven appearances.

The team has been strengthened by the arrival of Jordanian centre-back Hijazi Maher, who is expected to fill the void in defence left by the departure of the injured Jordan Elsey. The red-and-gold brigade will be hoping that the combination of its Spain-Brazil duo of Javier Severio and Cleiton Silva – in attack will help the team score its first goal of the season.

“We are excited to face East Bengal. One of the strengths of Hyderabad FC is the togetherness and camaraderie in the group. The new players that have come in have bonded really well with the previous players. We will go for the top honours because we are always preparing to do well as a team,” said the Hyderabad FC assistant coach Thangboi Singto.

Hyderabad FC will be hoping that the core of its talented Indian players who have stayed back with the side can team up well with the foreigners like Petteri Pennanen, Joao Victor, Joe Knowles, Jonathan Moya, Felipe Amorim and Oswaldo Alanis.