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Overview
The Airtel I-League is fast approaching its halfway stage and there is no respite for the clubs as they have weekend fixtures to look forward to after some intense midweek action. With only seven points separating the top ten, the title is anybody’s to win at present but any team that finds consistency in December will be in a great position to launch a serious title challenge when the league resumes in February.
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Encouragingly for Indian football fans, four of this round’s six matches will be televised LIVE. It all starts later today with Mohammedan Sporting hosting Dempo in Kolkata. Dempo took the unique call of only reaching Kolkata a day before the game and thus couldn’t have any training session there. In the top leagues around the world we don’t see visiting teams having venue practice and it remains to be seen whether it affects Dempo in any way. The Goan club have an injury crisis in defence and have their work cut out against a Mohammedan Sporting side that has kept three straight clean sheets.
There are four games on Sunday and the two televised games will be the Goan derby between Salgaocar and Sporting Clube and Pune FC’s home clash with United SC. Salgaocar will be looking to bounce back from their second defeat of the season which they suffered against Bengaluru FC in the last round. Derrick Pereira’s side are winless in three games but will be wary of Sporting Clube, who also must recover from a last minute loss to another Goan rival Churchill Brothers.
Pune FC are one of three teams who are locked on 18 points at the top of the table but the Red Lizards have a game in hand so a win against United SC will put them in a very strong position. Any slip up from Salgaocar or Pune could allow Bengaluru to become the outright league leaders if they beat Shillong Lajong on home turf. The Bangalore club are so for unbeaten at home with four wins and two draws but Lajong have won both their away matches this term.
Having failed to win their last four matches where they have managed just one goal, Mohun Bagan have the perfect opportunity to end this unwanted streak against rock-bottom Rangdajied United, who are yet to win in their debut campaign. Rangdajied too will fancy their chances of upsetting Mohun Bagan because of the presence of their IMG-Reliance loanees but the Shillong club have thrown away leads in their last two games.
The round ends with a Monday evening fixture between 11th placed Mumbai and East Bengal. This match too will be available LIVE on television and East Bengal fans will be hoping for an away win because their side has already dropped ten points in seven matches. That kind of form is not ideal for a title contender and Mumbai FC will make it very difficult for them especially with the availability of the four players that have been signed on loan from IMG-R.
Fixtures
Saturday: Mohammedan Sporting vs Dempo (17:00, LIVE on Ten Action)
Sunday: Mohun Bagan vs Rangdajied United (14:00); Bengaluru FC vs Shillong Lajong (15:00); Salgaocar vs Sporting Clube (15:30, LIVE on Ten Action); Pune FC vs United SC (18:00, LIVE on Ten Action)
Monday: Mumbai FC vs East Bengal (18:00, LIVE on Ten Action)
Game of the round
Pune FC vs United SC
Based on the league table this is a fixture between the third and fourth teams and it promises to be an entertaining contest. Pune are level on points at the top with two other sides but they have a game in hand and statistically the Red Lizards have been the most consistent team in the league with a points per game average of 2.0 and they have only been beaten once.
Pune FC’s home form in particular has been immaculate as they have won each of their four matches without conceding. Mike Snoei’s side will be looking to make it five in a row and celebrate their entry into the Asian Champions League qualifying playoffs. Former Bolton and Levante attacker Mustapha Riga is finally starting to show his class having scored in the last two games and the return of English defender Calum Angus from injury has also boosted Pune’s title push.
But the start of United SC so far is equally commendable as the Kolkata club are in the title mix despite having several difficulties off the pitch. The purple shirts are only two points off the top and their passing football has been pleasing on the eye. After winning the first two games of the season, United SC entered a rough patch as they failed to win the next five games. It was perhaps because of their poor preparation as due to financial constraints they only started pre-season in late August.
However in the last three games United SC have shown the potential of being title contenders. They overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Churchill Brothers, won away at Dempo and then in the last round came from behind to draw 1-1 with East Bengal. Eelco Schattorie’s side ground out a result despite not being at their best and will be confident of an away win in this fixture with Liberian Eric Brown also back from suspension.
Schattorie would be hoping that star striker Ranti Martins gets better service in this game and top scorer Brown will be aiming to repeat his man-of-the-man showing from the Dempo clash. Pune have successfully passed all their home tests so far but this game will be a different challenge especially for their defence, which has only conceded five goals and that is the best record in the league currently. All three results are possible in this clash and the winner could become outright league leaders at the end of the round.
Players to watch out for
Foreigner: Odafa Okolie (Mohun Bagan)
The pressure is mounting on the Mohun Bagan skipper after his failure to score in the last two games. Odafa has only returned from injury but the Mohun Bagan fans and club officials are not that sympathetic so the Nigerian will be determined to find the back of the net against Rangdajied United.
Indian: Syed Rahim Nabi (Mohammedan Sporting)
According to various sections of the Kolkata media, Mohammedan Sporting coach Moshood Bola Abdulaziz was forced to start Nabi against Mohun Bagan on the advice of the club officials despite not being fully fit. But there is no doubt about the India international’s quality and having got 60 minutes in midweek, the 2012 AIFF Player of the Year will be looking to be at his best against Dempo.
