Title contenders Mohun Bagan would look to shrug off from the drawn result in their previous match and grab a win when they take on laggards Minerva Punjab in their I-League match here tomorrow.
Mohun Bagan are currently at the top of the table, tied on 30 points with Aizawl. Yet, there were a lot left to be answered going by the sluggish performance (1-1 draw) against Shillong Lajong midweek.
The weary Mohun Bagan side need to recover real quick if they want to finish champions, twice in three years. Mohun Bagan will need their talisman Sony Norde to be back in the reckoning once more.
"We are looking for a win because we only have three matches left. Aizawl and East Bengal are close and so you need to win if you want to win the championship. It will not be easy and we have to work hard but we will play for three points," said Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen.
Jeje Lalpekhlua will be given a start after scoring a wonderful goal after coming off the bench and alongside Darryl Duffy should be a handful against Minerva. Duffy and Jeje had scored twice each in Mohun Bagan's 4-0 thrashing of Minerva at home in the first leg.
"We have to travel 14 hours from Meghalaya. Our players were tired yesterday but somehow we have to manage and there will be no excuses from us," said Sen.
Sen was not happy at the treatment meted out to his side, especially the training in the afternoon heat.
"We wanted to train at 4.30PM but we were given a session from 12 pm-1 pm. I think it's a lapse in the organization on the part of Minerva. Now adding to this, I have to train and bring a player to the press conference at this time, the player will not get to eat. I don't think Indian football can progress like this," said Sen.
Surinder Singh's Minerva side have been on a wretched run of form off late having last tasted victory five matches ago, with disappointing losses against Chennai City, Shillong Lajong and Bengaluru FC at home.
"We were not able to finish last match. Definitely this time we will need to ensure that the ball goes into the net. The boys know that it is important to win so that we go into the Federation Cup," said Singh.
The lack of goals upfront has continued to be a problem for the side whose top scorer is Loveday Enyinnaya with three goals. However, Loveday carried a niggle and looked unlikely to start tomorrow.
The likes of David Ngaihte, Manandeep Singh and Souvik Das, who were benched last time around, will look to start but the defence of Kareem Nurain and Loveday have to be extra alert to avert the Mohun Bagan onslaught.
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