It will be fascinating to watch if the city is painted ‘Green and Maroon’ or ‘Red and Gold’ as the first derby of the ISL 2023-24 season gets underway.

Mohun Bagan super Giants and East Bengal FC face off in a high voltage derby on 3rd february at the  Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan stadium. East bengal fc won their first major title after 12 years although they are yet to defeat Mohun Bagan Super Giant in an ISL derby.

The Saturday derby promises to be a belter as thriving East Bengal head into this derby as favorites after a long time. ‘Striving’ Mohun Bagan Super Giants would like to win against their city foes and end their 3 match defeat streak in the ISL.

The Stakes: Mohun Bagan Super Giant

Mohun Bagan Super Giant had a wonderful start to the season as they defeated their arch rivals East Bengal FC to win their 17th Durand cup in September,2023. The Mariners went on a seven match unbeaten streak in ISL before it ended against the Islanders on 21st december. MBSG then went on to lose against FC Goa 4-1 and Kerala Blasters 1-0 at home.

Juan Ferrando was relieved of his duties by the MBSG management before the start of the Super Cup. Clifford Miranda took charge of the Green and Maroon army, as their interim coach Habas didn’t get his visa, and ensured Mohunbagan supergiants won 2-1 against both the Hyderabad sides. Antonio lopez Habas arrived in the city soon after the derby humiliation and started the Mohunbagan supergiants training camp.

The Stakes: East Bengal FC

East Bengal won the Kalinga Super Cup last Sunday defeating the defending champions Odisha fc 3-2. East bengal fc went 1-0 down in the first half but were quick to turn the tides around as Nandha and Saul Crespo took East Bengal fc into the lead within 20 minutes from the start of the second half. Odisha fc dragged the game into the extra time courtesy of a last minute penalty converted by the veteran Juggernaut Ahmed Jahouh.

East Bengal were quick to capitalize on a defensive error from Odisha fc as Cleiton Silva ensured that 12 years of East Bengal’s trophy drought would end with a Super Cup victory. The Super Cup champions were felicitated by the club management and fans inside the East Bengal club tent on Monday evening. Carles Cuadrat in an interview spoke about the amount of love he received from the ‘amago’ fans and he said that this trophy win surpasses each of his career achievements.

Mohun Bagan Team News

The Mariners had a lot of problems with injuries this season. Their young midfield gun Hnamte also suffered an injury in the build-up to the Kalinga Super Cup. The return of Anwar Ali and Sahal Samad gives a big relief to Antonio Lopez Habas and the Green and Maroon fans. The Indian duo had played 90 mins each against the Mohunbagan reserves 11 on Tuesday.

With some added surprise to the Mohunbagan fans, the management decided to recall Finnish midfielder Joni Kauko, who suffered an Acl injury in november,2022. The former Euro Cupper is expected to train with the squad before a decision on his registration will be made.

East Bengal Team News

The Red and Gold brigade loaned out their Spanish duo of Borja Herrera and Javier Toro to FC Goa and Jamsedpur FC. East Bengal fc brought in the likes of Felicio Brown Forbes and former la masia player Victor Vazquez. Both Felicio Brown and Victor Vazquez have not yet arrived in India and are not expected to play any part in the Kolkata derby.

The former Mariner Souvik Chakraborty is also suspended for this game due to a red card against Odisha fc last sunday. Prabhsukhan Singh Gill did not train with the team on Thursday evening due to illness and Saul Crespo had a light training with team as he had a niggle on his right leg. Both of them are expected to be fit before the Saturday match.

Predicted Lineups

Mohun Bagan Super Giant: Vishal Kaith; Asish Rai, Anwar Ali, Brendan Hamill, Hector Yuste, Subhashish Bose; Anirudh Thapa, Glan Martins, Hugo Boumous; Manvir Singh, Dimitri Petratos.

East Bengal FC: Prabhsukhan Gill; Mohammed Rakip, Lalchungnunga, Hijazi Maher, Mandar Rao Dessai; Saul Crespo, Jose Pardo; VP Suhair, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Nandhakumar Sekar; Cleiton Silva.

Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal Prediction

Mohun Bagan 2-2 East Bengal

Telecast Details

The Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal game kicks off at 7:30 PM IST, at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on February 3, 2024. Live telecast of the fixture will be available on Sports18 Network (Sports18 1/VH1 Channel). Live streaming of the game will be available on the JioCinema app.

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