The oldest football rivalry of the country will see its fourth edition of the season on Saturday, when Mohun Bagan SG will be looking to regain the bragging rights from East Bengal in their usual battleground, the Salt Lake Stadium.
Fresh from its triumph in the Kalinga Super Cup, where it comfortably beat its traditional rival in the group stage to reach the semifinals, East Bengal has proved that it has considerably gained in strength compared to the Durand Cup final (in August last year) where it had lost in the final to its footballing bête noir.
This the first time two city rivals are meeting in an Indian Super League – 10 fixture, which will be making the contest even more absorbing in the context of their previous two ‘Cup’ event appearances.
While the previous events saw the teams having the allowance of fielding six foreigners, the upcoming ISL fixture will have this reduced to four. Mohun Bagan, which played the Super Cup without seven of Indian players who were called up for national duty, will have a complete roster and will be a much bigger proposition compared to its previous avatar that East Bengal defeated. Moreover, East Bengal’s successful coach Carles Cuadrat will have to find new strategies to contain its biggest rival, which will be appearing under its new coach Antonio Lopez Habas.
