I-League Media Team

KOLKATA: In a mid-table clash of the I-League, East Bengal will be hosting Pune FC at Barasat in an afternoon kick-off on Sunday.

Both the teams have crashed out of the title race and the only major motivation to grab all the three points will be a potential top three finish.

East Bengal pulled off an inspiring performance against Kitchee in an away match in the AFC cup, when goals by Ranti Martins and Cavin Lobo earned them a draw. Eelco Schattorie will be eager to build on that confidence to end his reign at the club on a high note.

Robert will be back for the hosts after missing out the Bengaluru FC match due to suspension. Milan Susak has long been absent from the practice sessions and Eelco will be forced to field an Indian back four. Adding to the woes, Raju Gaikwad was also absent in the session on Saturday.

The team will as usual be looking up to the Nigerian pair of Ranti and Dudu Omagbemi to score the goals while Cavin Lobo will try to be the provider.

On the other hand, Karim Bencherifa, the coach of the Red Lizards has not travelled with the team. The Pune side sit one step below East Bengal in the fifth position and will be depending on Darko Nikac to put the opponent defence under pressure.

Luciano Sobrosa will be the mainstay at the back while Edgar Marcelolino will be desperate to prove his class at the dead end of the season. It will be interesting to see Thongkhosiem Haokip, the current highest scorer of the side, how fares upfront. Pune FC will be missing the services of Anas Edathodika and Prakash Thorat while Dhanpal Ganesh and Ishfaq Ahmed are back for the reckoning.

The extreme heat in Kolkata will make it hard for the footballers to put in their best on show, but it will be interesting to see whether the Red and Golds can do the double over their opponents.

Kick-off: 17-05-2015@ 4:30 PM
Hashtag: #KEBvPFC