
After a dreadful first leg of the season where the team experienced a series of disappointing results, Bagan have finally found their form and are back in the title race. They have won two out of their last three matches which includes a brilliant derby win over rivals Kingfisher East Bengal and a 3-0 away win over Shillong Lajong.
Revenge will be on Bagan's mind when they face Chennai City on Wednesday. The club has lost only two matches in the season so far and one of those defeats came against V Soundararajan's men at their home ground.
Incidentally, the defeat against Chennai on January 2nd marked the end of Sanjoy Sen's three-year-long stint as Bagan head coach. Sankarlal Chakraborty took charges of the team thereafter.
Speaking about the first leg defeat, Sankarlal said, "I don't think it was an upset. Chennai City played very well. But this can happen in a league. In the present situation, we don't have an option. We have to win tomorrow. It will not be easy. They have a good combination of Indian and foreign players. Their coach is a very intelligent man."
The Bagan coach continued, "We have special plans. Our aim is to earn maximum points from every match. In the current situation, every match for us is a final match."
It is a must-win game for both the sides but for different reasons. While a win would keep Sankarlal's side in the title race, three points would push Chennai out of the relegation zone and send them to the seventh position in the league table.
Since their win in Kolkata, Chennai City have managed four draws and conceded two defeats. Speaking about his team's preparation ahead of the match, coach V Soundararajan said, "We defeated Mohun Bagan with ten men. We understand that they will want to take revenge. They will go for the attack right from the kickoff whistle. We are eagerly waiting to face Mohun Bagan, one of the giants of Indian football. If we beat Mohun Bagan again we get to do double."
On being asked about being in the relegation zone, the Chennai coach said, "If we can beat Mohun Bagan it will be better for us. The match against Churchill Brothers will be the deciding match. We obviously want to avoid relegation. We have to win matches, go all out."
With their new found form, the Green and Maroons look very strong and are favourites to bag full points from this away fixture.
Match starts at 5:30pm IST
Live on Star Sports 2/2 HD
Streamed live on Hotstar and Jio TV