Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Confident and Hopeful - What are the fans saying ahead of Kolkata Derby?

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The Kolkata Derby is taking place in Bhubaneswar as a buoyant East Bengal side take on Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 on Friday (January 19).

The two teams are tightly stacked against each other in the table, and this match is going to be a virtual knockout as the losers will be eliminated, while the winners advance to the semifinals.

But East Bengal do have a certain advantage over their arch-rivals. The Torch Bearers are currently occupying the top spot in the group, courtesy of more goal scored in the Super Cup so far.

East Bengal have netted 5 goals in their first two matches compared to Mohun Bagan's 4, which means a draw in the derby will take East Bengal through to the semifinals.

Carles Cuadrat's team is also doing better when it comes to the personnel. With some key players out with national duty, it will be a big ask for the Mariners as they look to challenge their nemesis in this huge tie.

Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: What are the Fans saying?

And ahead of the match, the East Bengal fans are a tad more confident than their Mohun Bagan counterparts. A huge number of fans are expected to travel to Bhubaneswar for this match and it has started as well.

Fans from the entire Bengal are slowly taking over the Kalinga Stadium as the Bhubaneswar bound trains are seeing an increased number of passengers, all of them destined at the Kalinga Stadium.

MyKhel caught up with a few East Bengal fans who have made their journey to Bhubaneswar. And they sounded quite optimistic about getting a victory in this match.

"Yes, we (East Bengal) are going to win. The way the boys are playing is quite excellent and we will beat Mohun Bagan today. Cleiton Silva, Saul Crespo will tear them apart," a buoyant East Bengal fan said.

Prateek Mascharak, an ardent East Bengal supporter, is unable to make his move to Bhubaneswar, but says East Bengal will have a cakewalk over Mohun Bagan.

"East Bengal is like a passion to us. I am hopeful that we are going to win it and then the Kalinga Super Cup this year. I am predicting a 2-0 victory," he echoed with confidence.

On the other hand, Mohun Bagan fans are also beaming with confidence but they will be up against a strong East Bengal side. They secured two victories in their last two matches only after conceding first, and the same thing against Lal-Holud brigade can have damaging ramifications.

"Predicting a Derby is quite tough. But being a Mohun Bagan supporter, I am hoping for the best. Yes, we have had a few issues in the last month or so, but we can definitely win over East Bengal," said Bratin Maity, a fan who will be cheering for the Mariners from Edinburgh in Scotland.

The Green and Maroon brigade have had an upper hand in this fixture in the last few years, but the dynamics of the derby is slowly changing and so are the moods among the supporters of the two clubs.