After a high-voltage action of 24 group games across four groups, here we are setting the stage for the first semi-final of the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup to take place.
East Bengal will take on the Group B winners Jamshedpur in the first semi-final of the 4th edition of the country’s premier cup competition. This Battle of East will be hosted by Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium on Wednesday.
East Bengal has taken each and every step towards the prestigious Super Cup trophy in a careful way and their diligent efforts have brought them just two steps away from the champions’ podium. Carles Cuadrat’s Brigade has progressed towards the knockouts having scored the most number of goals (8) in this tournament.
On the other hand, Jamshedpur is on the verge of staging one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Indian football. Khalid Jamil has not only resurrected the team’s future fortunes but also has created himself an opportunity to become the second Indian coach to win this silverware after Clifford Miranda.
Current Form
The Torchbearers made national headlines with the Derby triumph.
The Red and Gold Brigade recently registered one of their biggest wins of the season to qualify for the penultimate round by winning the virtual quarter-final clash. They crushed the Mohun Bagan Super Giant side on a final scoreline of 3-1 in order to avenge the recent Durand Cup final defeat at the hands of the arch-rivals.
The Kolkata-based is also thriving on an undefeated run for the last eight matches across all competitions.
Meanwhile, we are witnessing a refreshing Jamshedpur battalion storming the Super Cup and it is quite hard to believe that the same side was struggling badly in the top-flight league a while back.
The Red Miners became the first semi-final entrants after thrashing the ISL counterparts NorthEast United and Kerala Blasters in the first two group fixtures. Then the Group B table-toppers completed a hat-trick of wins with a 2-0 triumph over Shillong Lajong in the final group game.
Head to Head Record
Hailing from the neighborhood states, there has always been a tussle between these two outfits to claim the ISL’s eastern supremacy. Since EB’s promotion to the top division, they have clashed with the Jharkhand-based club seven times in ISL to date.
Meanwhile, head-to-head record this rivalry stands even on 2-2 and depicts the glimpse of intensity whenever these two share the battlefield. There has not been a single instance where we witnessed one of them registering double over the neighboring rivals as the other always manages to make a comeback in the returning fixture.
They also faced each other earlier this season which marked the third drawn battle in seven face-offs between them. It was the opening match of their 2023-24 league campaign for both sides where the play was heavily dominated by the defensive units as the match ended 0-0.
Team News
There are no fresh injury concerns for the East Bengal gaffer Carles Cuadrat and other changes at this point will be unnecessary for title-favorites. They will be considering going with the same starting XI which took the field against MBSG recently. Hence, the Spanish striker Javier Siverio may also retain his place in the lineup despite not having a good individual outing previously.
Jamshedpur boss Khalid Jamil made multiple changes to name an all-Indian lineup against Shillong Lajong and rested his key players before the knockout test. Hence, we may get to see many changes in the Red Minders’ starting XI for their most important match of the season.
The star-studded forward line comprising Daniel Chima Chukwu and Alen Stevanovic will be returning back to the action while only PC Laldinpuia and Imran Khan are exploring to retain themselves.
Predicted Starting XIs
East Bengal (4-3-3): Prabhsukhan Gill; Mohammad Rakip, Jose Pardo, Hijazi Maher, Nishu Kumar; Saul Crespo, Souvik Chakrabarti, Borja Herrera; Cleiton Silva, Javier Siverio, Nandhakumar Sekar
Jamshedpur (4-4-2): TP Rehenesh; PC Laldinpuia, Pratik Chaudhari, Elsinho, Mohammad Uvais; Rei Tachikawa, Alen Stevanovic, Jeremy Manzorro, Imran Khan; Daniel Chima Chukwu, Steve Ambri
Prediction
The high spirits of the East Bengal roster cannot be matched by anyone in this tournament as they have just eliminated another title-contenders Mohun Bagan Super Giant. The momentum of playing a similar core of 11 players along with a similar formation also adds another winning advantage in East Bengal’s favor.
Meanwhile, Jamil would be hoping that the reinvigorated Jamshedpur would overpower the Torchbearers in their strength of attacking play.