In-form defending I-League football champions Bengaluru FC square off against debutants Bharat FC at the Balewadi Stadium here tomorrow after blanking Pune FC 2-0 two days ago at the same venue.
A victory for the visiting team against the League's newest side will take Bengaluru to second spot on the points table.
Bengaluru FC's head coach Ashley Westwood lauded the team for the way they went about the win, but also cautioned that the visitors would not have things easy against the strong defence of the debutants.
"On Tuesday, we came with a plan, executed it and got the job done (against Pune FC). But we are well aware that the game against Bharat will be a tough one, given the fact that we will be up against a side who have one of the best defensive records in the League.
"They may not have won as many games as they would have liked to but there's many occasions where they came close to turning a draw into victory. We will have to reproduce a high standard of football if we are to take anything away from this game," said Westwood today.
The visitors would have Robin Singh back in the reckoning after the striker served his suspension in the game against Pune FC and it will be interesting to see the formation Westwood chooses to roll out.
"We have a fully fit squad and no suspensions to deal with. I feel sorry for leaving a few players at home given how tightly knit a squad we are but what it goes to show is the depth in squad we have," he said.
Bharat, meanwhile, have to contend with three suspensions in defenders Dharmaraj Ravanan, Gouramangi Singh and goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya.
