East Bengal take on I-League and Federation Cup holders Churchill Brothers in a Round 17 clash at the Salt Lake Stadium here Tuesday. It will only be East Bengal’s 12th match of the I-League season so they have plenty of games in hand but the red-and-gold brigade can’t afford any more slip-ups as they have already dropped 15 points. The I-League break turned out to be a mixed bag for the Kolkata giants as they picked up the local league title but missed out on the Federation Cup and the IFA Shield. More importantly, they had as many as 15 fixtures during the near two-month break and thus were overworked compared to the other title contenders. On the other hand, the interval proved to be a blessing in disguise for Churchill Brothers as they lifted the club’s first-ever Federation Cup in Kochi while new foreigners Anthony Wolfe and Christian Lagos were signed. It’s more than four years now since East Bengal last recorded a home league win over Churchill Brothers and coach Armando Colaco would be hoping to end that wait this time.