Bengaluru FC Team News
BFC are up against SCEB, who are unbeaten in the last four games and Moosa promised an entertaining contest. BFC will be without East Bengal old boy Harmanjot Khabra, who misses out after suspension. But will hope for the return of senior midfielder Erik Paartalu.
"East Bengal are a decent side. They are getting better. Bright (Enobakhare) is a talented player. We will be playing more entertaining football. We can assure you that. We have to remain compact when we lose the ball. We have had fewer clean sheets. The focus is not to concede early goals," he said.
This season, Bengaluru FC had the worst goals conceded average under Cuadrat which proved to be their downfall in the last few matches. With the attack not being able to bail them out, they have struggled, winning just three of their last nine games. In these games, they scored as many as they conceded (12).
"That is one part we are working on (not scoring many goals). We have gone through all the videos. We felt that we were falling short in numbers in the attacking third. We will look to have more numbers in the attacking third and look to create more scoring opportunities," he added.
SC East Bengal Team News
SCEB meanwhile are buoyant after an excellent performance against FC Goa, where they were arguably the better side despite being a man-down. The match continued the narrative of SCEB's resurgence after looking down and out initially. And the run has been in no small part down to new recruit Bright Enobakhare, who has scored in consecutive games for the Kolkata side.
The Nigerian is confident that he can continue his good run against BFC. "It's a great time for me," he said. "The players and the staff are amazing. We just have to focus on the next game and try to get as many points as we can by the end of the season. I think everything will come into place. It's going on and we'll see how it goes till the end of the season."
Interestingly, East Bengal boss Robbie Fowler is suspended for the game after receiving his second caution of the season in the previous game, his captain Danny Fox, too is out with a red card.
Bengaluru FC squad
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lara Sharma, Dipesh Chauhan, Lalthuammawia Ralte.
Defenders: Juanan, Rahul Bheke, Fran Gonzalez, Harmanjot Khabra, Ajith Kumar, Joe Zoherliana, Biswa Darjee, Namgyal Bhutia, Parag Srivas, Pratik Chaudhari, Wungngayam Muirang.
Midfielders: Dimas Delgado, Erik Paartalu, Suresh Wangjam, Thoi Singh, Ajay Chhetri, Naorem Roshan Singh, Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha, Amay Morajkar.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Kristian Opseth, Cleiton Silva, Ashique Kuruniyan, Deshorn Brown, Udanta Singh, Edmund Lalrindika, Leon Augustin, Semboi Haokip.
SC East Bengal Squad
Goalkeepers: Debjit Majumder, Sankar Roy, Mirshad Michu, Rafique Ali
Defenders: Samad Mallick, Abhishek Ambekar, Daniel Fox, Scott Neville, Narayan Das, Mohamed Irshad, Gurtej Singh, N Rohen Singh, Lalramchullova, Rana Gharami, Anil Chawan, Raju Gaikwad, Ankit Mukherjee
Midfielders: Sehnaj Singh, Matti Steinmann, Jacques Maghoma, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Wahengbam Luwang, Bikash Jairu, Yumnam Singh, Surchandra Singh, Loken Meitei, Mohammed Rafique, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Anthony Pilkington, Milan Singh, Haobam Singh
Forwards: Balwant Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua, CK Vineeth, Girik Khosla, Harmanpreet Singh, Bright Enobakhare
Match Details
Bengaluru FC vs SC East Bengal
Venue: Fatorda Stadium in Goa
Date: January 9
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Live on: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar VIP, Jio TV