The Mariners are heading into the contest on the back of a 4-2 defeat against Gokulam Kerala FC while the Bashundhara Kings beat Maziya S&RC 1-0 in their last outing.
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ATK Mohun Bagan will play Bashundhara Kings in the AFC Cup group D fixture at Salt Lake stadium on Saturday. The Mariners are heading into the contest on the back of a 4-2 defeat against Gokulam Kerala FC while the Bashundhara Kings beat Maziya S&RC 1-0 on Wednesday. Asia’s second tier competition features 38 teams divided into ten groups. The final match will take place on October 22 with a USD 1.5 million prize money for the winning team. Meanwhile the runner-up will get a prize money of USD 750,000.
Our young guns are geared up to make a difference! ?⚽️#ATKMohunBagan #JoyMohunBagan #AmraSobujMaroon #AFCCup2022 #MarinersInAsia pic.twitter.com/4eGkmFqKJe
— ATK Mohun Bagan FC (@atkmohunbaganfc) May 20, 2022
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ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando needs to get his side back to winning ways as soon as possible to stay alive in the competition. In the first match, the Mariners’ defence looked in sixes and sevens after centre-back Tiri was taken off due to an AC injury. The back four lost its structure, GKFC attackers easily found spaces and netted four times. Luka Majcen scored a brace while P Rishad and Jithn MS netted one goal each for the winning side. Meanwhile, goals from Pritam Kotal and Liston Colaco reduced the deficit for the Mariners.
However, the Kolkata outfit do have positives to take from the defeat. ATKMB scored both their goals from set piece situations and created a decent number of goal-scoring chances from open play. ATKMB’s physical superiority gives them an edge from set-pieces and Liston is showing signs of becoming a free-kick expert. The Indian international’s free-kick goal against GKFC was nothing short of brilliant.
On the other hand, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions Bashundhara Kings had a positive start to their Asian campaign, pocketing all three points against the Maldivian club. Gambian striker Nuha Marong scored the lone goal of the match in the 33rd minute with a fine header. They could have won by a bigger margin had Ibrahim converted a simple chance when the ball came his way after hitting the post from Robson Robinho’s effort. But the midfielder’s effort missed the target.
ATKMB were handed a huge injury blow in the GKFC defeat as central defender Tiri suffered an ACL Injury. The Spaniard is likely to be sidelined for around six months. Indian international Sandesh Jhingan is likely to come in and partner Pritam Kotal in the heart of the defence.
ATK Mohun Bagan possible starting line-up: Amrinder Singh, S Bose, Jhingan, Kotal, P Das, L Rodrigues, J Kauko, M singh, Krishna, Colaco, Williams.
Bashundhara Kings possible starting lineup: Rahman Zico, Kazi, Ghosh, Shafiei, Arafat, Miah Zoni, Rana, Ibrahim, Figuera, Robinho, Marong.
The AFC Cup group D fixture between ATK Mohun Bagan and Bashundhara kings will take place at the Salt Lake Stadium and it will kick off at 4:30 pm IST on Saturday, May 21.
The match will be live streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app and website. Meanwhile, football fans in India can also enjoy the action on Star Sports network
