Defending champions Mohun Bagan will look to extend their winning run when they host a struggling Salgaocar FC in a round two fixture of the I-League football tournament at the Vidyasagar Krirangan at Barasat tomorrow.
The Mariners kicked off the I-League with a 3-1 rout of debutants Aizawl FC at home last week, while the Goans suffered a 1-2 defeat to last season's runners-up Bengaluru FC.
Mohun Bagan will further be bolstered by the return of Brazilian defender Luciano Sabrosa as they will look to keep their winning momentum intact ahead of the much anticipated derby against East Bengal next week.
There will be more reason to rejoice for Mohun Bagan as their high profile Haitian forward Sony Norde is set to join on Wednesday, clearing the air about his availability.
With no Norde for tomorrow's fixture, Katsumi Yusa will carry the creative mantle for the reigning champions and the presence of Cornell Glen upfront will be a constant threat for the opposition.
Trinidad and Tobago forward Glenn scored twice in their opening match and he will look to add to his tally alongside Balwant Singh who scored the third goal in their 3-1 win.
With Sabrosa likely to make the starting XI, Mohun Bagan will have a solid defence which has old timer Kingshuk Debnath, Pritam Kotal and Dhanachandra Singh.
Salgaocar will bank on Darryl Duffy who made a surprise start for the Greens with their foreigner duo of Martin Scott and Calvin Mbarga indisposed.
Coach Malky Thomson went ahead with a 4-3-3 formation as Keenan Almeida, Nicolau Colaco, Gurjinder Kumar and Augustin Fernandes made up the defensive line while new signing Jackichand Singh, Alesh Sawant and Duffy were deployed as the attacking contingent. It would be interesting to see his ploy in the away match here tomorrow.
Salgaocar will have to be watchful against conceding early goals, something that led to their downfall against former Champions Bengaluru FC who struck through C K Vineeth in the fifth minute in their last outing.
Salgaocar not only missed a flurry of chances but their defence left a lot to be desired to open their tally.
