ATK Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Preview and Prediction
The football-frenzy state of West Bengal will once again be divided into two halves on Saturday as ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will lock horns in the iconic Kolkata Derby in ‘Match 75’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at the Fatorda Stadium.
Though the craze of their century-old rivalry has remained intact over the years, we have recently witnessed the formation of a gap in terms of the quality of the two sides. ATK Mohun Bagan might currently be struggling at the eighth position in the standings having accumulated 16 points from 10 matches but they are considered as one of the prime title contenders.
On the contrary, East Bengal has failed to live up to its reputation over the past season and a half. They are reeling at the very bottom of the standings with only 9 points in their account from 13 matches.
Current Form
ATK Mohun Bagan has done well in their recent run of fixtures, as they are among the only three teams to have remained unbeaten in their last five fixtures. Juan Ferrando’s men have accumulated five points from their previous three matches.
They are coming into this match on the back of successive draws – a goalless stalemate against Odisha and a 2-2 thriller against Hyderabad. Before that, the Mariners handed Goa a 2-1 defeat.
East Bengal has shown some signs of improvement after a rather horrendous start, but it still is not enough to get them out from the bottom of the pile. The Red and Golds have gathered three points from their last three matches.
Mario Rivera’s men were handed a 4-0 humbling by Hyderabad in their previous outing, but they won 2-1 against Goa in the game preceding that. It was only their first triumph of the season, coming eight days after a 1-0 defeat against Jamshedpur.
Head to Head Record
ATK Mohun Bagan has completely dominated the Kolkata Derby in the ISL era, as they have emerged victorious in all three meetings against East Bengal in this competition. The first meeting of this season ended 3-0 in the Mariners’ favor where Roy Krishna, Manvir Singh, and Liston Colaco were on target.
Team News
Marcelo Ribeiro is expected to make his starting XI debut for East Bengal
The creative spark of Ferrando’s team, Hugo Boumous will be available for selection in this match after serving his one-game suspension in the game against Odisha. He is expected to take up Roy Krishna’s place.
The Spanish tactician has an alternative plan – playing Krishna as the No.9 and dropping David Williams to the bench, but given the former’s subpar display against the Kalinga Warriors, he might not be included in the starting XI. Besides that, we can expect an unchanged ATK Mohun Bagan starting XI.
Rivera might make wholesale changes to his starting XI after an embarrassing defeat against Hyderabad. New acquisitions Marcelo Ribeiro and Fran Sota are expected to be handed starts in place of Thongkhosiem Haokip and Darren Sidoel respectively.
Ankit Mukherjee had a game to forget at the left flank against the Nizams, with the likes of Akash Mishra and Javi Siverio running rings around him. He is expected to make way for Hira Mondal, whilst Wahengbam Luwang could be reinstated in the middle of the park at Sourav Das’ expense.
Predicted Starting Lineups
ATK Mohun Bagan (4-2-3-1): Amrinder Singh; Ashutosh Mehta, Pritam Kotal, Tiri, Subhasish Bose; Carl McHugh, Deepak Tangri; Manvir Singh, Hugo Boumous, Liston Colaco; David Williams.
East Bengal (4-4-2): Arindam Bhattacharja; Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Adil Khan, Franjo Prce, Hira Mondal; Naorem Mahesh, Fran Sota, Wahengbam Luwang, Mohammad Rafique; Marcelo Ribeiro, Antonio Perosevic.
Prediction
Though quality on paper and form guide becomes inconsequential in any Derby match, the gulf in class between these two teams is too significant to ignore. Hence, we have predicted a 3-0 win for the Mariners in this match.