Current league leader Chennai City FC (CCFC) will be facing one of the biggest tests of the I-League when it comes up against the East Bengal, here at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. A wooden-spooner in the previous two seasons (finishing eighth in the 10-team league table), Chennai City FC has evolved in a big way under its new coach from Singapore Akbar Nawaz, who seems to have infused a high dose of professionalism in the side.
Las time the two had met barely nine months ago at the same venue, East Bengal had won 7-1 giving CCFC one the worst defeats in its I-League existence. “Last year, we had a different team. If East Bengal had the same team, same players and same mindset, you could base your comparison on that. But it is a completely different match as both teams have new players and new mindset to go into the match.” Nawas said.
Coming fresh from beating the Gokulam FC in Kozhikode, Chennai City is high on confidence. “We should not get over the moon with our performance (two wins and one draw). In football, situations can change very soon. But as professionals we will look for three points in every match, does not matter whether it is in home or away,” Nawaz said with a note of cautious optimism. A lower hamstring injury to key striker Pedro Manzi may be worrying Nawaz, who said Ameerudeen will be the replacement if the former is not found fit.
East Bengal is on a equally strong footing having won both its North-Eastern ventures (NEROCA and Shillong Lajong). “We are hoping for three points tomorrow. Chennai City is a strong team being on the top of the table now. We will try to count on the advantage of playing at home,” East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia said.
