Guwahati to Witness Derby Madness this weekend as arch rivals goes toe to toe.
Character, an essential principle in sport. When nothing seems to be going your way, and your backs are turned against the wall, one just needs the presence of mind and the motivation to keep going. After that horror show against goa amidst an injury crisis, many people might have thought, or felt that the team will get found out in the next games, while bringing the team together was the test for Molina.
In fact when a team suffers from those type of situations, like the damaging loss coupled with an injury problem, coaches tries to overthink and deflect away from their philosophy to adapt to the situation to reduce the damage further. However Molina stuck to his plans as Mohun Bagan recovered from that setback to win the next two games.
Saturday blockbuster “Boro Match” will now be played at Guwahati. See you mariners. 💚♥️#MBSG #JoyMohunBagan #আমরাসবুজমেরুন pic.twitter.com/6dJpCspUZA
— Mohun Bagan Super Giant (@mohunbagansg) January 8, 2025
The situation was not different from last season when the game against Mumbai City FC away in December almost ruined our shield charge. The difference was that Mohun Bagan never could recover from the injuries and suspensions at that time and lost the next two games as well.
Even though the fixtures were much easier this time, the team showed character and poise. However we will need to take that momentum to the next game, another big one, the Derby against our city rivals East Bengal to be held at Guwahati due to the lack of security personnel in and around the city at that time.
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| Picture Courtesy - ISL & MBSG Media |
The two eternal rivals had a contrasting season so far. While the red and gold brigade find themselves towards the bottom of the league standings, eventually sacking the manager who brought them their first trophy in many years.
The team donning the green and maroon jersey are in a shield race, potentially gaining an advantage in it, a massive one in fact after Bengaluru FC collapsed in a dismal way against Jamshedpur FC who would also be crossing paths with the mariners soon. However as the coach himself said, the team is looking at one game at a time and approaching the games in a cautious way.
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| Picture Courtesy - ISL & MBSG Media |
From a neutral’s perspective the mariners might not be in a spot of bother before the derby, but when you are in the heat of the moment in a game like that, anything can happen, just like we have all witnessed in the game between Liverpool and Manchester United where the massive favourites, Liverpool not only couldn’t manage to win but almost lost in the most heartbreaking way possible.
-: East Bengal FC Players to watch :-
David :- A player who is very difficult to rate, at least from my eyes, David had been the Diamond in the rough for East Bengal this season. With their other attackers like Talal, Diamantakos and even Mahesh who were so good last season underperforming, the responsibility is shifted towards the young Indian prodigy. The reason I think he is very difficult to rate is because he’s an enigma, we don’t know what he will serve up on the pitch.
However lets discuss his X-Factor first, he is decisive. He scores goals- a lot, but that becomes only possible because of his movement which is top class, if anything it reminds me of a certain Sunil chettri at his prime. However he has a problem, he loses the ball too easily while pressed, and his lack of aggression on the ball sometimes means that he gets mugged off the ball quite easily if he faces a physical opposition. However his flexibility and movements compensates for his strengths.
PV Vishnu :- A player who is very well having his breakout season and should soon be rewarded with a National team callup. His best strength is that he is average – yes, he is a player who has a bit of everything. However he stands out from his peers in terms of speed. When he is unleashed, he is extremely fast. Another advantage is that he can play equally well on both the flanks. Mainly as a winger but can do wingback shifts as well. He will have a responsibility, to win his duels against Ashish Rai.
-: Tactical Analysis :-
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| Picture Courtesy - ISL & Jio Cinema |
East Bengal and their defensive block is depicted here. East Bengal, while at defense, has a peculiar shape, they are 4 at the back on paper but revert to a three at the back with the Left Centre Back (or sometimes) left back man-mark the opposition right winger. They did it with not only Chhangte last game but also chothe in the Hyderabad game. The advanced defender marking our right back should be our target, why? The next image has the answer.
Picture Courtesy - ISL & Jio Cinema
This is the beforemath of the Mumbai City FC first goal, where the three at the back shape is more prominently viewed. Chhangte was struggling a bit against that fierce man-mark but when he got that space on a counter – due to the left sided defender being so advanced(even showed in the first picture), he pounced on it and scored. Our right winger, whoever plays, preferably Manvir should also try and find that space.
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| Picture Courtesy - ISL & Jio Cinema |
There should be a mention of the Torchbearers’ attacking shape as well, they try to build out from the back. Even though East Bengal defensive shape has that one fault I noticed, a shocking trend in fact, their attacking shape is quite spot on, if they manage to sustain the intensity.
They have the midfield receiver with the wingbacks overlapping, which gives them an extra man to find as they progress the ball from their ball playing defenders. Even if the opposition marks the midfielders well, cutting out the space for the receivers, they can easily ping a long ball for the target man to chase.
The best bet is to cut supply to their midfield and man-mark their wingbacks/wingers. Then Aldred should win aerial duels against Diamantakos and Cleiton. We’ll have the best chance to get the ball back from them if it happens.
-: Mohun Bagan Situation :-
Well as the team recovers slowly, in terms of results and personnel recovery, the focus will be now to build on the momentum gained from the last two games. Only Kuruniyan will not be available as Stewart and Petratos are both fit and are training hard to get to the best shape. It is difficult to see who could start out of them but I would prefer Petratos not only because he is much fitter at this point of time but also because his injury was much less severe.
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| Picture Courtesy - ISL & MBSG Media |
There is a consensus about Thapa potentially being injured but I am not too much concerned about it. We have the required depth to compete and have control. Tangri would help us in the dueling while Sahal would control the midfield more so I would prefer him to start. I have already explained how East Bengal shapes up in defense with their three-man defensive shape which will leave spaces in behind to exploit. So I will much rather go for the safer option.
For the defense, the team is set. The best backline in the league will once again try to give their best against an opposition who can hurt any team using variations, as explained above. Aldred will have to win his duels, Alberto will have to progress the ball well and stand his ground. Ashish will have to get the better of Vishnu and Subhasish should not lose his position out of possession because their wing players overlaps a lot.
Predicted lineups:-
Mohun Bagan :- Vishal Kaith; Ashis Rai- Tom Aldred-Alberto Rodriguez -Subhasish Bose; Apuia-Sahal Abdul Samad ; Manvir Singh - Jason Cummings -Liston Colaco; Jamie Maclaren.
East Bengal :- Prabhsukhan Singh Gill; Provat Lakra-Hector Yuste-Hijazi Maher - Lalnunchunga; Nandha Kumar Sekar -Anwar Ali -Jeakson Singh - PV Vishnu; Cleiton Silva - Dimitrios Diamantakos.
Kick Off: 07:30 PM IST
Venue: Indira Gandhi International Stadium, Guwahati.
Live Stream: Sports 18 network , Star Sports 3(TV) VH1 India (TV) DD Bangla (TV) Colours Bangla (TV) Jio Cinema (India OTT Stream) One Football (International OTT Stream)
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