Atletico de Kolkata will look to compound the woes of their fierce rivals as they take on FC Goa in a fourth round encounter of the Hero Indian Super League at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Atletico de Kolkata are chugging along nicely in the Hero ISL season 3 with five points from their first three matches but their rivals from Goa are at the bottom of the table, unable to win in three attempts. Goa’s start this year has been their worst in three years and Atletico de Kolkata, who enjoy an unbeaten record against FC Goa in their previous six encounters, will try to capitalise on both their form and psychology advantage, to add to their points tally.
“I am sure it will be a tough match,” Atletico de Kolkata chief coach Jose Molina warned during the pre-match media briefing, knowing well Goa will do everything in their capacity to get points on board.
“FC Goa have not won as yet and they will fight to register a win. It’s not a problem for us. I am confident about my players, but at the same time I don’t want to be over confident. We are playing at home and we have to try to win. All of us, which includes me and the players, will give our best to win,” said the Spanish coach.
The inaugural year champions shared the spoils with Chennaiyin FC in the opening match at their new home ground Rabindra Sarobar on October 2, then pocketed all points from Kerala Blasters and drew against Mumbai City FC in their previous match. FC Goa, on the other hand, have had the worst start to their campaign in the ISL, losing against NorthEast United FC, FC Pune City and defending champions Chennaiyin FC. Chief coach Zico, knows from past experience in the ISL, that all is still not lost for his club and the players.
“If we win two games we will be at par with ATK. So nothing is lost yet. In this tournament, it does not matter if you finish first or fourth. What matters is making it to the play-offs. We are focussed on that. ATK are a nice side and we will do our best to neutralise their power,” said Zico.