East Bengal vs NorthEast United: Preview and Prediction
East Bengal and NorthEast United, two teams who have had a nightmarish campaign so far, will clash in ‘Match 104’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Monday. This match will have a charm of its own as both sides will be eager to avoid the wooden spoon, that is, finishing in the last position.
That dreaded position is currently occupied by East Bengal, who have accumulated only 10 points from their 18 matches. The re-appointment of Mario Rivera as the head coach has not had any effect on their performance graph, as they have looked unconvincing in almost all of their matches.
On the other hand, the Highlanders are placed just ahead of their opposition, with 13 points to their name from 19 matches. Their management will need to figure out where it went wrong after making it to the semi-finals only last season.
Current Form
Nothing has worked out in East Bengal’s favor in the recent weeks, as they are one of the two teams to have not won any of their last five matches, and also the only team to have lost all of their previous three fixtures.
In their last game, the Red and Golds fought hard against defending champions Mumbai City but eventually succumbed to a slender 1-0 defeat. Before taking on the Islanders, Rivera’s men lost 1-0 against Kerala Blasters and 2-1 against Odisha.
NorthEast United have gathered three points from their last three fixtures, courtesy of a win. That being said, Khalid Jamil’s team is coming into this match on the back of a 3-2 defeat against Jamshedpur.
The performance from the Highlanders was much better in the preceding game against Bengaluru, where they emerged as 2-1 winners. However, ATK Mohun Bagan handed them a 3-1 defeat in the match before that.
Head to Head Record
NorthEast United are head and shoulders above their opponents when it comes to head-to-head records, as they have won all of the three previous meetings against East Bengal. The first match of this season saw Jamil’s men registering a 2-0 triumph over the Kolkata-based team. VP Suhair and Patrick Flottmann were on the scoresheet for them.
Team News
Marcelinho could make a comeback in the NorthEast United starting XI
Rivera is expected to make three changes to the team that lost 1-0 against Mumbai City. Hira Mondal will be available for selection after completing his one-game suspension, and he is likely to come in for Bikash Jairu.
Besides that, the Spanish tactician will also have more overseas players at his disposal for this match. Darren Sidoel could replace Sourav Das in the middle of the park, while Marcelo Ribeiro can slot in for Mohammad Rafique upfront. Jackichand Singh could also be handed a start, with Naorem Mahesh making way for him.
Jamil is likely to make four changes to his team that lost 3-2 against Jamshedpur, with two of those being forced changes. Both Hernan Santana and Mashoor Shereef need to serve a one-game suspension after picking up seven and four yellow cards respectively.
Gani Nigan could replace Santana, which will subsequently allow the I-League-winning head coach to field an additional overseas player in the backline, replacing Shereef with Flottmann. Besides that, Laldanmawia Ralte and Marcelinho are likely to come in for Mohamed Irshad and Marco Sahanek respectively.
Predicted Starting Lineups
SC East Bengal (4-4-2): Sankar Roy; Raju Gaikwad, Joyner Lourenco, Franjo Prce, Hira Mondal; Jackichand Singh, Fran Sota, Darren Sidoel, Lalrinliana Hnanmte; Thongkhosiem Haokip, Marcelo Ribeiro.
NorthEast United (4-3-2-1): Mirshad Michu; Joe Zoherliana, Patrick Flottmann, Zakaria Diallo, Gurjinder Kumar; Gani Nigam, Pragyan Gogoi, Laldanmawia Ralte; Marcelinho, Imran Khan; Deshorn Brown.
Prediction
Both teams have been poor throughout the season and their respective positions in the standings in a testament to their horrific performances. However, owing to their supremacy in head-to-head statistics, we have predicted a 2-1 win for NorthEast United.