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McDowell Mohun Bagan take on Sporting Clube de Goa in an important at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Saturday (December 17).
But despite this one being Bagan’s home match, the Kolkata outfit stays handicapped by the absence of quite a few key players, a point which coach Prasanta Banerjee pointed out. “The team is without key players such as Jose Barreto, Sunil Chettri, Lima and Ashim Biswas – and that definitely poses a problem with regard to team selection,” he said.
In any case, Bagan, who are riding on an impressive 4-2 comeback against HAL Bangalore, will be looking for an easy three points. Talismanic striker Odafa Okolie, who has been the Green and Maroon brigade’s top scorer this season, said: “All the goals I have scored have been with the help of my team mates, without them I would not have been able to.”
On the other hand, Sporting Clube De Goa stay winless from their last three matches and would be looking to make amends in terms of League position. Sporting were beaten convincingly by Air India in the last round of matches – a loss which has taken them to the eighth spot on the table.
But that doesn’t make Bagan complacent. “Sporting are a good team. They have some good players in their side who can script the fate of a match single-handedly. We need to be cautious,” Banerjee added.
