Hosts and defending champions Bengaluru FC would be looking to consolidate their position in the I-League points table by extending their dominance over Royal Wahingdoh when the two teams meet here Friday.
Both Bengaluru and Wahingdoh are on 20 points, one less than table-toppers Mohun Bagan, with six wins, two draws and three defeats apiece. However, the Blues are placed second since they beat Wahingdoh 4-0 in January.
For both Bengaluru and Wahingdoh, the game is of even more significance as Mohun Bagan host Salgaocar, also Friday. Given the situation, Friday's game is certain to be keenly fought and the Blues cannot expect another easy outing against the Shillong side which is brimming with confidence following two consecutive wins, including against East Bengal.
"Royal Wahingdoh are joint second. They've scored quite a few goals and have got some good attacking players. I don't think too many would have picked them out to be where they are being a new team coming into the league," said coach Ashley Westwood.
"The coach is doing something right and they seem to have clicked. They're full of confidence having beaten East Bengal and Pune who are contenders for the top three. So, they are up there on their merit and we're going to have to try hard to come away with a good result," he said.
The rival coaches opted not to read too much in the 4-0 win for Blues in Shillong. While Westwood has always maintained that his team is as good as the last win they have notched, visiting coach Santosh Kashyap believes it's been a while since his side have turned a corner following that result and have only got better on the organisation front.
The points apart, the teams are on an even keel with fully fit squads to choose from. Midfielders Siam Hanghal and Shankar Sampingiraj, who both missed the Blues' last two games on account of being part of the India Under-23 squad that was in Bangladesh playing the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Championships, have returned to the squad.
Also encouraging was midfielder Udanta Singh's debut for the club last weekend when he came on as a substitute in the second half.
