Bengaluru FC defender Albert Serran vies for possession in training at the Bangalore Football Stadium, ahead of their clash against FC Goa, on Thursday. (Photo courtesy: Bengaluru FC)
Bengaluru FC will resume their League campaign with a clash against league-leaders FC Goa at the Fatorda Stadium, in Margao, Goa, on Thursday. In a fixture that’s been billed as a clash of philosophies, Carles Cuadrat will go up against another student of the Catalan school of football in FC Goa Head Coach Sergio Lobera.
“Lobera plays a very similar style of attacking football and his team scores a lot of goals so it will be a tough test for us. We have the same mentality and it means that it will be a good game of football for the supporters who are coming to watch us,” said Cuadrat, speaking to the media ahead of the game, on Wednesday.
In a massive boost for the Blues, skipper Sunil Chhetri has made the trip following an ankle strain that had kept him out of international duty over the past week. “Sunil has recovered well and has been training with us for the last two days. We are positive that he will be able to take part in the game tomorrow and that is really good news for us,” said the Spaniard.
A Chhetri strike and a Nikola Krcmarevic own goal gave BFC the points in Kerala, their third away game on the trot but Cuadrat believes that Goa will pose their strongest challenge on the road so far. Bengaluru sit three points adrift of Thursday’s opposition on the League table, with Lobera’s side having played two games more.
“It is always tough to win away games, especially against sides like Kerala, Kolkata and Pune, but that is the schedule and we will look to do our best. The good news is that we will have some home games after this and it will be nice for us to go back having claimed the three points here,” added Carles.
Lobera, who signed a one-year contract extension with FC Goa last week, saw his side go down 4-1 to Jamshedpur FC before back-to-back wins against Delhi Dynamos and Kerala Blasters. Having scored 12 goals in their three games at the Fatorda, Bengaluru’s backline will have to be at their best to keep ISL top-scorer Ferran Corominas at bay.
The game kicks off at 7.30 pm and will be telecast live on the STAR Sports network, HotStar, Jio TV and Colors Kannada Cinema.
(Bengaluru FC)