FC Goa take on defending champions Atlético de Kolkata in Match 5 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) Season 2 at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa, on Wednesday.
The two sides faced each other four times last season with the Bengal Tigers winning the first match in Goa and then winning the Goan tie of the semi-finals via knock-out while the other two results were draws.
This season, a day after the Kolkata franchise travelled to the south for the ISL opener and beat Chennaiyin FC 3-2, FC Goa got off to a flyer with a 2-0 win over Delhi Dynamos FC.
“Versus Kolkata we just lost one game out of four last time. We drew one game because of the mistake of the referee when we were leading 1-0,” said FC Goa Head Coach Zico.
“For tomorrow (Wednesday), it is a regular game. No rivalries of any sort. We have changed a lot of our players and they have as well. We will have to be prepared,” he added.
The Gaurs, who overall fared well in their last match, will be missing out on Bikramjit Singh and Victor Simoes on account of injuries while Pronay Halder and Narayan Das are away with the Indian national team.
Atlético de Kolkata’s major exclusion will be that of marquee player Hélder Postiga who is back in Portugal to treat his injury, other than Arnab Mondal and Rino Anto on national team duty.
“Hélder Postiga has a serious injury. We may not have the player for more than one month. It’s bad news for us but I have a lot of confidence in the rest of my players,” observed Atlético de Kolkata Head Coach Antonio López Habas who also gave his thoughts on facing FC Goa.
“The difference between Goa and Atlético de Kolkata is minimum. The difference is in small data like set pieces, fouls,” he said.
Keeping into consideration both teams played just one match each, there is a glaring sight on FC Goa’s clean sheet as compared to the two goals conceded by Atlético de Kolkata and neither outfits are shy to play an attacking brand of football.
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