The three-time World Cup winner is on a week's visit to India as he will be the guest of honour at the first home match for ATK who will be missing several of their key players against a team whom they had beaten 1-0 in the last year's final.
Having guided their team to a 3-2 win in Chennai with two dazzling goals in the opening match of the second edition, ATK's marquee player Helder Postiga is back home recovering from an injury.
There was more setback in store as the ATK midfielder from Punjab was handed a two-match ban and fine of Rs 5 lakh, while coach Antonio Lopez Habas was served a warning and fined Rs 50,000 by the All India Football Federation disciplinary committee.
It's a grim reminder to their campaign last season when Fikru Teferra who's now with Chennaiyin FC and Habas was served bans last year as the team with a brand of 'fatafati (fantastic) football' has come under criticism for their over aggressive display.
In absence of the mercurial duo of Postiga and Baljit up front, the onus would be on Canadian forward Iain Hume and Japanese-born Indian Izumi Arata to get past Kerala Blasters FC defence solidly manned by their captain Peter Ramage.
A former Newcastle United centre back was at the helm as they kept a clean-sheet warding off Nicolas Anelka's Mumbai City FC for a draw at home in the last outing.