NorthEast enters gruelling period with top of the table clash with Bengaluru

NorthEast United, which has won only one of its four fixtures at home, entertains unbeaten Bengaluru FC in a ISL fixture.

Published : Dec 04, 2018 21:15 IST , GUWAHATI

NEUFC's Bartholomew Ogbeche is the joint-top scorer in the ISL with eight goals to his name.
NEUFC's Bartholomew Ogbeche is the joint-top scorer in the ISL with eight goals to his name.
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NEUFC's Bartholomew Ogbeche is the joint-top scorer in the ISL with eight goals to his name.

Bengaluru FC, the most consistent team of the past couple of seasons, will seek to extend its unbeaten run as it takes on the resurgent NorthEast United FC at the latter’s home here at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in a ISL fixture on Wednesday.

BFC is back on its felicitous form this season, reaching the top of the current table with seven wins and a draw. NorthEast, which is yet to reach the play-offs, has summoned a great start to the season and position itself in second spot. With five wins, three draws and just one loss, the host will be looking to back its good form by securing a favourable result against the current leader.

However, the prospect becomes a challenging one for NEUFC which has only registered a solitary win in its four home matches. Looking at the queerly set fixtures which forces his team to play three matches in nine days, NEUFC head coach Eelco Schattorie hoped his side comes out unscathed from the gruelling period.

“I think Bengaluru has an advantage in terms of the schedule. But they have also shown that they can win games even without their best attacker (Miku). Again, they have conceded just six goals so far so breaking them open will be difficult,” said Schattorie.

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Bengaluru FC is on a six-match winning streak. - ISL MEDIA


Bengaluru has found the combination of its star Sunil Chhetri , Bhutanese Chencho Gyeltshen and Udanta Singh coming good in the attack in absence of the injured Venezuelan striker Miku. On the other hand, NEUFC is banking on the goal-poaching abilities of Nigerian Bartholomew Ogbeche, who is currently sharing the top spot in the scoring chart with FC Goa’s Spanish striker Ferran Corominas with eight goals apiece.

“NorthEast United has done really well this season. From all their games that I have watched, I can see that there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes,” noted BFC coach Carles Cuadrat.

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