CFL 2018: Mohun Bagan face stern test against Aryan before Kolkata Derby

Mohun Bagan will face Aryan in their seventh match of the Calcutta Football League (CFL) 2018 on Wednesday at the Kalyani Stadium. 

This will be the first fixture that Bagan will be playing away from their own backyard in Kolkata. Therefore, coach Sankar Lal Chakraborty has decided to train at the Kalyani turf on Tuesday so that the players can get used to the surface. 

The team will practice in the afternoon heat as the kick-off time has been advanced to 2:30 PM for broadcasting purposes. 

Although Aryan have lost 3-0 to George Telegraph in their previous match, it must be remembered that they beat Md. Sporting 1-0. Chakraborty is well aware of the potential of his opponents and wants to avoid any upset as it will create added pressure before the big match on Sunday. 

It is expected that the coach will field the strongest lineup available with Arijit Bagui and Eze Kingsley set to return after serving one-match suspensions. 

After defeating W.B. Police 5-0, Mohun Bagan will look to repeat their stellar performance to further strengthen their goal difference. Both Aser Dipanda and Henry Kisekka found the net in their mammoth win and Bagan's goal-scoring woes now seem to be a thing of the past. 

But to score against Aryan, they have to get past Bello Razaq in the opposition's defence. Razaq is familiar to the Mariners as the defender scored their I-League-winning equaliser against Bengaluru FC in 2015. 

Maroon and Green skipper Shilton Paul emphasised that there is no scope to relax as the team has not won the title for eight years and had missed the silverware by a whisker in the previous edition. 

"We are concentrating on the Aryan match. We do not want to lose points against Aryan as it will heap more pressure before the derby. We are definitely more confident after scoring five in our previous match, but there's no room to relax. We lost the title last year on goal difference. We cannot repeat the same mistakes," said Paul. 

Mohun Bagan possible XI: Shilton Paul; Arijit Bagui, Eze Kingsley, Lalchhawnkima, Abhishek Ambekar; Pintu Mahata, Sourav Das, Shilton D'Silva, Britto PM; Aser Dipanda, Henry Kisekka.