Bengaluru FC will look to close in the gap on Mohun Bagan at the top of the I-League table as they lock horns against Shillong Lajong at the Nehru stadium here on Wednesday.
Bengaluru are second on the leaderboard with 18 points whereas Lajong are fifth with 11.
Bengaluru stormed back from their 0-2 defeat against Mohun Bagan and won 1-0 against Aizawl FC in their last tie on Sunday.
They would look to continue their new-found momentum and clinch all three points from the contest.
However, Lajong have held their opponents to a stalemate in their last four outings and would look to do the same against Bengaluru. But at home in front of a strong and vociferous crowd the hosts might also go in for the kill.
Three points would propel them to the fourth in the table and that is what Thangboi Singto would be hoping for.
In the first leg Bengaluru had the better of Lajong in an encounter where the scoreline read 3-0.
But can Singto's men turn the tables around in their backyard? They have the pace and the quality to stun Bengaluru but then again the former champions have one of the best defences in the league.
Lajong will have to rely on their Brazilian forwards Uilliams Souza and Fabio Pena to give them the goals. They have been so far ably supported by the likes of Penn Orji and Boithang Haokip who have held the midfield together.
Coach Ashley Westwood knows Bengaluru are still very much in the title race and would therefore also know what three points will mean to his side.
The English tactician would try and plug in his rearguard and will tell his forwards who been amongst goals to have a crack at the rival defence.
