East Bengal are desperate to end their plummeting form as they welcome Kerala Blasters to Salt Lake Stadium.
The Red and Gold suffered another crushing defeat, 4-2 against FC Goa last week while the Tuskers restored winning habits by claiming a 2-0 victory over NorthEast United.
EBFC vs KBFC Match Details
Date: Friday, 3 February 2023
Time: 19:30 (IST)
Venue: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata
EBFC vs KBFC Match Preview
Stephen Constantine said he wants to become the first coach of East Bengal to take them to the top six of the ISL if he gets the support of the stakeholders, administrators, players and fans. But he definitely knows it will be a miraculous job for the club in ninth place on the table to close down the 13 points of the playoff places in five games remaining. Something they will miss out on completely if sixth-placed Odisha FC wins one more match in their remaining four. It will not matter then even if East Bengal collects victories in the rest of the games. That is a mammoth task in itself as the side have only picked up four wins all season and lost in 11. The Torch-Bearers did not get the chance of making signings to improve the squad in the large period of the January window because of the transfer ban by FIFA. Jake Jervis’s signature was only secured as it was done prior to the ban but only registered after it was lifted. The lack of intent was also concerning which has plagued the club since its introduction in the ISL. Fighting all the miseries, East Bengal will face Kerala Blasters at home with no wins in the last four and little to no ways to uplift their spirits.
Kerala Blasters managed to put a break to their successive losses in the league with a 2-0 victory over bottom-placed NorthEast United last weekend. Dimitrios Dimantakos scored a quick brace on the stroke of the half-time whistle to decide the game and put the Tuskers back in the third position on the table. Ivan Vukomanovic benched some first-team regulars who have not performed at their best in the heavy defeats to FC Goa and Mumbai City and the move paid off. Left Midfielder Bryce Miranda shone in place of Sahal by constantly disrupting the Highlanders’ defense from his flank also picking up a lovely assist to cap off his performance. Kerala Blasters gained the known attacking spark in this match and hopes to carry it in the remaining games of the season. They will face four clubs below them in as many matches before facing Hyderabad FC in the last game of a relatively easy schedule. All the opportunity now to pick up the required points to solidify their spot in the playoffs. The Tuskers have not won in their last three away matches but have remained unbeaten against East Bengal in all of the five meetings so far in the ISL. So anything other than a win on Friday will be rather surprising at this stage.
Recent Form
EB: LLLLW
KBFC: WLLWW
EBFC vs KBFC Predicted Lineups
EB: Kamaljit Singh; Sarthak Golui, Lalchungnunga, Ivan Gonzalez, Jerry Lalrinzuala; VP Suhair, Jordan O’Doherty, Mobashir Rahman, Naorem Mahesh Singh; Cleiton Silva, Jake Jervis
KBFC: Karanjit Singh; Harmanjot Khabra, Ruivah Hormipam, Victor Mongil, Jessel Carneiro; Rahul KP, Jeakson Singh, Adrian Luna, Bryce Miranda; Apostolos Giannou, Dimitrios Diamantakos
EBFC vs KBFC Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Karanjit (4.5)
DEF: Sarthak (7), I Gonzalez (7.5), Hormipam (7.5)
MID: Rahul (8), Jeakson (7.5), Suhair (8.5), Mahesh (9)
FW: Luna (9), Diamantakos (8.5), C Silva (9)
Vice-captain: Adrian Luna
Captain: Dimitrios Diamantakos
