MATCH PREVIEW | MOHUN BAGAN VS FC GOA
The league stage comes to its business end as we enter matchweek 26 of the ISL with the shield champions taking on 2nd placed F.C. Goa at home on Saturday, 8th of March in their last encounter of the ISL league stage.
Mohun Bagan has created histories, broken them and recreated it again, but, becoming the first ever Indian Club to earn 1000 points in Top division leagues? If you would've asked someone in the dark days of 2009-2014, they would have laughed! But, Mohun Bagan means business, and, they are on the track of doing so as they are set to become the first ever Indian side to earn 1000 league points if they can beat FC Goa.
Other than that historic 1000* point mark, the match is a dead rubber for both the teams and there is not much to play for shield race fight, but all to play for pride.The two teams in discussion have been, by far been the best two sides of the ISL, with Bagan having 53 points in 23 matches while Goa gathering 48 points from the same number of games, which is 10 points ahead of 3rd placed Bengaluru. They really did give Molina and co. a headache in their title defence, but the Mariners eventually overcame the challenge and retained their title.
The last outing against the Gaurs was not a memorable one for the Mariners as they were humbled 2-1 with Brison Fernandes scoring a brace for Goa. As the Mariners aim for the prestigious double, they would be eager for redemption and enter the knockouts high on confidence with a win while the Gaurs would be eager to avenge their shield loss. Thus, Saturday is poised to be an exciting night and football fans may expect a very high quality display from both the teams.
All roads lead to VYBK on 8th! Have you booked your tickets yet? ⚡️#MBSG #JoyMohunBagan #আমরাসবুজমেরুন pic.twitter.com/O2nCQkhBOj
— Mohun Bagan Super Giant (@mohunbagansg) March 6, 2025
Predicted Lineups:
Mohun Bagan (4-2-3-1) : Kaith(Gk), Dippendu, Aldred, Alberto, Ashish, Apuia, Thapa, Manvir, Liston, Petratos(C), Cummings!
F.C. Goa (4-2-3-1): Hrithik (Gk), Seriton, Odei(C), Sandesh, Boris, Chhetri, McHugh, Iker, Brison, Yasir, Sadiku !
Players to Watch out for:
Dimitri Petratos: The Hero for the Mariners at the current moment, his monumental goal in the 93rd minute against Odisha is the reason why Mohun Bagan are the Shield Champions already. Known amongst the Bagan faithful as 'Dimigod', he has risen to the occasion whenever it mattered the most, be it in the Durand Cup final or a must win league game. He is the textbook definition of a 'Big Game/Clutch Player'. Dimi was having somewhat of an underwhelming season by his standards, even struggling to get into the starting 11 with the advent of players like Cummings, Maclaren and Stewart. But as the saying goes "form is temporary but class is permanent", he was exceptional in the last two games, scoring in both of them. He is definitely the player to watch out for.
Iker Guarrotxena: An orchestrator and a showman,the 32 year old Spaniard is the backbone of Goa's midfield. From defence slicing passes to deady freekicks, pinpoint crosses to scoring bangers, this man can do it all. With 7 goals and 3 assists in 18 matches, he is definitely the player Bagan would be worried about the most.
Previous 5 ISL Encounters;
FCG - 2 MB - 1 (20/12/24)
FCG - 0 MB - 1 (14/02/24)
FCG - 4 MB - 1 (23/12/23)
FCG - 1 MB - 2 (28/12/22)
FCG - 3 MB - 0 (20/11/22)
Kick OFF: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium), Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Live Stream: Star Sports 3 (TV), Jio Hotstar (Indian OTT Streaming) One Football (International OTT Streaming)
Author - Sreyas Mukherjee
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