Only two points separate debutants Bharat FC from their rivals and a win for the home side tomorrow 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.
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.
"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.
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"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.
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.