Salgaocar FC would look to move to the top half of the table with a win when they take on DSK Shivajians in an I-League match here tomorrow.
Salgaocar got a fresh breath of air after they won their last match against Shillong Lajong to move to fifth place with 12 points from 12 matches, the same as Mumbai FC, Shivajians and Aizwal FC. A win tomorrow will take them to fourth place.
A win tomorrow will also take the Shivajians, who have played one match less than Salgaocar, to fourth place, displacing Sporting club de Goa to fifth place.
The Shivajians have come into the match with a win against East Bengal and will be looking to continue to keep the momentum going, something they have struggled to do throughout the campaign.
With skipper Dipanda leading the attack from the front and Douhou Pierre playing the role of an attacking midfielder, the visitors will be looking to breach the rival defence and make amends of their loss at home.
The two-week break will help both the teams to recover from injury. Goalkeeper Subrata Paul, who missed the last match due to a finger injury, is back in the side for the visitors. Duffy, who is the leading scorer for the home team, too has recovered from his groin injury.
Salgaocar, who won their first match against Shivajians under coach Santosh Kashyap, are expecting a tough fight tomorrow against the visitors.
"The win against East Bengal have raised our confidence and we will have to remain focus against them if we are to win tomorrow," stated Kashyap.
Shivajians' coach Derrick Pereira too is expecting a tough challenge from his former club.
"The team is performing well after initial set back and tomorrow I am looking for an entertaining contest from both the sides. Playing under hot sun will be really challenging as we love to play under floodlight," he said.
"We have struggled initially, not having much time to work with the players especially those who played in the ISL. But now that the team is shaping well and doing good, I want them to continue to win and keep ourselves away from the relegation which is our main object," stated Pereira.
