ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) and Bengaluru FC (BFC) face off in the final of the Hero Indian Super League 22/23 on Saturday, March 18, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.
Both teams have had to toil for their places in the final, winning in their respective knockout matches before facing off against the top two teams in a two-legged semi-final in which both advanced on penalties.
Bengaluru FC were the first team to make the final after exciting two legs of football against Mumbai City FC. While their 10-match winning streak was broken in the second leg as they lost 2-1, their 1-0 win in the first fixture tied the scores and took the tie to penalties, with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's heroics guiding them into the final. This was after their 1-0 win over the Kerala Blasters that ultimately ended in controversy.
ATK Mohun Bagan, meanwhile, beat Odisha FC 2-0 in their first knockout round before advancing to the semi-finals, where they faced a stern test in Hyderabad FC. After a solid 210 minutes of well-coached, well-drilled defenses battling it out against each other, it came down to penalties to decide the second finalist, with ATK edging their opponents out.
Suffice it to say that both teams have that winning mentality that's absolutely essential to succeed in knockout matches, and it'll be interesting to see who blinks first on this monumental occasion.
Squads to choose from
ATK Mohun Bagan
Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith, Arsh Anwer Shaikh, Debnath Mondal.
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Florentin Pogba, Subhasish Bose, Ashish Rai, Deepak Tangri, Sumit Rathi, Ravi Bahadur Rana, Brendan Hamill.
Midfielders: Ashique Kuruniyan, Dimitri Petratos, Carl McHugh, Lenny Rodrigues, Hugo Boumous, Joni Kauko, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Abhishek Suryavanshi, Ricky Shabong, Ningombam Engson Singh.
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Kiyan Nassiri Giri, Fardin Ali Molla, Liston Colaco.
Bengaluru FC
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lara Sharma, Amrit Gope, Sharon P
Defenders: Alan Costa, Sandesh Jhingan, Naorem Roshan-Singh, Prabir Das, Parag Satish Srivas, Aleksandar Jovanovic-II, Hira Mondal, Namgyal Bhutia, Muirang Wungyanyg, Biswa Darjee
Midfielders: Bruno Silva Almeida, Danish Farooq-Bhat, Jayesh Rane, Francisco Javi-Hernandez, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Leon Augustine, Faisal Ali, Rohit Kumar, Damaitphang Lyngdoh, Huidrom Thoi-Singh
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Roy Krishna, Udanta Singh, Prince Ibara, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Harmanpreet Singh.
Predicted Playing XIs
ATK Mohun Bagan
Vishal Kaith, Pritam Kotal, Brendan Hamill, Asish Rai, Subhasish Bose, Carl McHugh, Hugo Boumous, Glan Martins, Ashique Kuruniyan, Manvir Singh, Dimitri Petratos.
Bengaluru FC
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Prabir Das, Rohit Kumar, Suresh Wangjam, Naorem Roshan Singh, Javi Hernandez, Bruno Ramires, Roy Krishna, and Sivasakthi Narayanan.
Match Details
Match: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Bengaluru FC
Date: March 18, 2023; 7:30 pm IST.
Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa.
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Bengaluru FC Dream11 Fantasy Suggestions
In a big clash like this, it's hard to make any concrete predictions as anything could happen. Both sides have encountered lean patches this season, but have stepped up when it mattered to reach this stage. It's hard to predict the nature of this game, with Bengaluru FC showing more impetus to attack, while ATK Mohun Bagan's defense looks more solid.
Dimitri Petratos, Carl McHugh, Javi Hernandez, Sandesh Jhingan, Hugo Boumous, and Asish Rai are the players I feel are must-haves for this match. My main captaincy options would be Dimitri Petratos, Javi Hernandez, and Hugo Boumous.
Fantasy Suggestion #1: Vishal Kaith, Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Asish Rai, Subhashish Bose, Javi Hernandez, Naorem Roshan Singh, Hugo Boumous, Carl McHugh, Sivasakthi Narayanan, and Dimitri Petratos.
Captain: Javi Hernandez. Vice-Captain: Dimitri Petratos.
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan, Prabir Das, Asish Rai, Slamko Damjanovic, Javi Hernandez, Ashique Kuruniyan, Hugo Boumous, Carl McHugh, Roy Krishna, and Dimitri Petratos.
Captain: Hugo Boumous. Vice-Captain: Javi Hernandez.