Sunil Chhetri-led Bengaluru FC will look to begin their season on a optimistic word once they tackle Maldivian membership Eagles within the AFC Cup play-off match on Sunday.
The winners of the playoffs, initially scheduled to be performed in May however postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will advance to Group D of the 2021 AFC Cup.
Bengaluru had registered an emphatic 5-0 win over Nepal’s Tribhuvan Army within the opening spherical in April, whereas Club Eagles defeated Thimphu FC of Bhutan 2-0.
Apart from Chhetri, Bengaluru head coach Marco Pezzoli can even depend on newcomers Rohit Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Vidyasagar Singh, Jayesh Rane, Danish Farooq and Sarthak Golui.
Bengaluru, which completed seventh within the Indian Super League, was profitable within the AFC Cup, ending runners-up in 2016 and making it to the inter-zonal last in 2017 and the semi-final a yr later.
The membership Eagles will go into the tie with out Ahmed Rizwan, with head coach Mohammad Shajli confirming to native media that the striker continues to be recovering from damage.
However, the house workforce may have gamers like Ali Ashfaq, Akram Abdul Ghani, Ali Fasir, Mohammad Arif, Ismail Isa, Ahmed Hassan and Mohammad Faisal with out lack of expertise out there for the match.
The winners of the playoffs will be part of one other Indian workforce ATK Mohun Bagan, Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh and Magiya Sports and Recreation of Maldives in Group D which begins in Male on Wednesday.
The winner will tackle ATK Mohun Bagan of their opening match with Basundhara Kings to face Majia Sports and Recreation.
The winners of Group D will advance to the Inter-Zone semi-final in opposition to FC Nassaf of Uzbekistan or FC Ahl of Turkmenistan from the Central Zone.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
