ISL: NorthEast United seek to dent East Bengal FC's momentum

Juan Pedro Benali and Co. resumed their campaign after the mid-season break with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Jamshedpur FC, as a late equaliser by Mohammed Ali Bemammer helped them secure a point from the contest. NorthEast United sits at number eighth in the table with just two wins, seven draws and four losses. They have a total of 13 points.

NorthEast United FC are one of the many competitors for the sixth playoff spot, just a point behind Bengaluru FC (14), who have also played a game more (14) than the Highlanders (13).

East Bengal FC secured their biggest-ever ISL win when they beat NEUFC by 5-0 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium in the earlier fixture between these sides in this league. It is likely that their current run of impressive form kicked off from then and continued impeccably to result in them winning the Kalinga Super Cup last month. EBFC is at number nine with two wins, six draws and three losses, giving them 12 points.

NorthEast kicked off the season positively, but their form slightly fizzled out before getting on a good run in December. Benali has had reasonable time to work with the squad and his efforts have also been recognised by the management who handed him a contract extension till 2025. The journey of the coming nine games is going to be pretty challenging straight up, but a possible qualification could help them script a remarkable comeback after the 2022-23 season when they could win only one of the 20 league matches.

The team will take confidence from Bemammer's goal, which ensured that they did not return from Jamshedpur empty-handed. Late equalisers or winners often help teams bow out of matches on a high and carry that belief in the forthcoming games. Avenging the 5-0 drubbing to East Bengal FC in December must be one of the foremost objectives for NEUFC in this game. Nandhakumar Sekar had torn their backline apart and their defence wore a disoriented look altogether.

Benali must take learning from that game and set up the team in a way that East Bengal FC and their impressive attacking riches are dealt with accordingly. Simultaneously, NEUFC should not curb their offensive instincts, and keep applying pressure to secure a breakthrough whenever possible. Their record on this front is pretty impressive too, having scored at least a goal in each of their last eight home matches. However, the team should look to keep things neat at the back early on, having conceded the most goals (12) by any team in the first half of matches this season. Avoiding that, they can ensure that their side doesn't play catch-up throughout the game.

East Bengal FC have emerged as one of the most in-form teams in the ISL lately. They played an absolute all-out entertainer of a Kolkata Derby, drawing 2-2 against the Mohun Bagan Super Giant. An impressive element about the side has been their ability to produce new heroes game after game, ensuring that the squad is not over-reliant on the brilliance of an individual to bag desirable results. They are unbeaten in their last four clashes against NorthEast United FC, winning and drawing twice each.

Moreover, they have not faced a defeat in their previous six ISL games either. Carles Cuadrat boasts of a laudable record against the Highlanders anyway, with teams coached by him recording four victories over them. Cuadrat has gotten his processes right thus far, and now it's just a matter of executing his plans over and over again until the end of the league stages at least when they get to their desirable position. A win here will help them do the league double over NEUFC for the first time in the ISL, and by the looks of it, the East Bengal FC players are raring to go for the same.

*Key Players

Nestor Albiach (NorthEast United FC)

The Spaniard leads the frontline for the Highlanders and is their primary source of creating and even converting goal-scoring chances. He has netted twice and assisted once in 11 encounters, having produced 12 goal-scoring opportunities and earned 16 fouls - helping the team make chances from set-pieces. He is proactively involved in the build-up play, averaging 30 passes per game. He has taken a shot at goal in every game so far and has registered a 75% passing accuracy until now. The NEUFC forwards were not able to be sharp enough in the attacking line in the last match and it required a special effort from Bemammer to draw the scores level. Nestor must step up and take the onus upon him to address those concerns in the coming fixture.

Cleiton Silva (East Bengal FC)

The East Bengal FC forward has been on target on important occasions this season. Against all odds, he pulled off a panenka in the Kolkata Derby to present a peach of a penalty when all eyes were upon him. Cleiton Silva will again be in focus in the coming game. East Bengal FC has impressive creative midfielders and tireless wingers working to constantly put the ball inside the box and bank on Silva's goal-scoring instinct to finish the duties. Along with six goals, he has created 17 goal-scoring opportunities and earned 12 fouls in ISL 2023-24. He has been averaging 27 passes per game, winning 18 aerial duels in total and often coming to the rescue whenever the Red & Gold Brigade requires his services.

*Head-to-Head

Played - 7

NorthEast United FC - 3

East Bengal FC - 2

Draws - 2

*Team Talk

"We had problems in scoring in only two games in the ISL so far, which was against EBFC away from home and against Mohun Bagan in Guwahati. We keep ourselves stronger defensively and have always scored, and we will be trying to do that more than the other team tomorrow," NorthEast United FC Juan Pedro Benali said as quoted by an ISL press release.

"We are trying to have a team that can fight for being in the higher statures of the ISL. We have been in two finals until now and shown against the champions of the last season, like Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Mumbai City and Odisha that we can win games against them and put them in trouble," East Bengal FC head coach Carles Cuadrat said in the pre-match press conference. (ANI)