Bengaluru vs Mohammedan: Preview and Prediction
![ку](https://parimatchnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ку.jpeg)
Having already qualified for the quarter-finals of Durand Cup 2022, Bengaluru and Mohammedan will lock horns with each other at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday. It will be the final match of Group A, which also consisted of Goa, Jamshedpur, and the Indian Air Force.
Mohammedan have won all of their previous matches and have nine points from 3 games. Bengaluru, on the other hand, surrendered a two-goal lead against Goa as they now have only seven points from 3 games.
A win or a draw for Mohammedan would qualify them to the quarter-finals as table toppers while Bengaluru needs a win at all cost to progress as group leaders.
Current Form
Bengaluru started their Durand Cup 2022 campaign with a 2-1 win over Jamshedpur as Sunil Chhetri and Roy Krishna got their names on the scoresheet. They followed it up with a 4-0 thumping of the Indian Air Force as Krishna, Faisal Ali, and Sivasakthi Narayanan found themselves among the goals.
In their previous Durand Cup 2022 match, Bengaluru took a two-goal lead at half-time courtesy of Sunil Chhetri and Sivasakthi Narayanan’s strikes. However, Goa clawed back into the game to level the proceedings with the full-time scoreline reading 2-2.
Mohammedan found themselves one goal down at half-time but knocked three goals in the second half with strikes from Faslu Rahman, Pritam Singh, and Marcus Joseph proving to be the difference in a 3-1 scoreline. Rahman alongside Abhishek Halder and SK Faiaz scored goals for fun against Jamshedpur as the Black Panthers beat them 3-0.
Ousmane N’Diaye and Rahul Paswan found their names on the scoresheet as Mohammedan beat Indian Air Force 2-0 in their previous Durand Cup 2022 encounter.
Head to Head Record
Bengaluru and Mohammedan squared off against each other twice in the 2013-14 season of I-League and both the times it was the former who came out on top. The Blues won the contests by margins of 2-1 and 3-2 and would be eager to keep their unbeaten streak intact.
Team News
Prince Ibara suffered a knock in Bengaluru’s previous game against Goa and may be sidelined for the encounter against Mohammedan. Sivasakthi Narayanan, who took his spot and scored a goal, may replace him in the starting line-up.
Bengaluru may also try to play the game without their regular skipper Sunil Chhetri. Leon Augustine can get a place in the starting line-up in that case. Mohammedan should name an unchanged line-up and go for glory to keep their unbeaten record in Durand Cup 2022 intact.
Predicted Starting XIs
Bengaluru (4-4-2): Amrit Gope; Namgyal Bhutia, Hira Mondal, Alan Costa, Parag Shrivas; Rohit Kumar, Danish Farooq, Bruno Ramires, Udanta Singh; Sivasakthi Narayanan, Leon Augustine
Mohammedan (4-4-2): Sankar Roy; Vanlalzuidika, Abhishek Ambekar, Sairuatkima, Ousmane N’Diaye; Abhash Thapa, Nuriddin Davronov, Pritam Singh, Sheikh Faiaz; Faslu Rahman, Marcus Joseph
Prediction
Bengaluru showed signs of slackness and paid the price for it against Goa. Although their opponents were unable to complete the comeback on that occasion, Mohammedan will fire with all guns blazing and are capable of springing a surprise. We predict Mohammedan to win the match 2-1.