Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC will look to raise the bar a few notches when they lock horns in a marquee I-League clash here on Saturday.
Coming off draws in their previous games, both coaches - Sanjoy Sen and Albert Roca - know the importance of a win at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
"It's going to be a tough game as Bagan are fighting for the league and will be looking to get three points against us.
We must be aggressive in our approach to make sure that we make something out of this," said Roca at the pre-match press conference.
Having dropped points on the road against Chennai City FC, Roca believes that his side has had the wrong rub of the green in recent matches owing to poor finishing and dubious refereeing.
"We have had some decisions go against us, which is unfortunate, but we must look to put our chances away to make sure that we are not in that position again. We are Bengaluru and we must fight hard to make sure that we get the three points on Saturday," he said.
Defender Rino Anto has resumed training with the first team and could feature on the bench while Serbian striker Marjan Jugovic is set to make his home debut for the Blues.
"Marjan is a good striker and comes with experience from playing across the world and we are doing everything to get him in shape as soon as possible. We have been creating a lot of chances but have lacked the finishing and that is what we need to improve on as quickly as possible," said Roca.
Between them, Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan have won the last three league titles, two of which have been decided at the Kanteerava.
The Mariners will be without defender Prabir Das and goalkeeper Debjit Majumder, who will miss out because of an injury. But Sen said he was confident his squad would step up.
"We've never relied on a single player so these injuries do not worry us. Bengaluru s graph this season may not be the best but they are a team that can beat anyone on any given day," said Sen. Top scorer for Mohun Bagan, Scottish striker Darryl Duffy makes a return to the squad after missing his side's 2-2 draw against Mumbai FC earlier this week.
In another match on Saturday, Minerva Punjab FC would aim to dish out a strong show when they take on table toppers Aizawl FC. On a dream run in the ongoing I-League season, Aizawl FC, fondly called as the 'People's Club', are at the top of the points table at the moment.
Aizawl coach Khalid Jamil heaped praise on Minerva Punjab FC and said his side will never be complacent on Saturday. He added that there would be no change to his squad.
Asked about his team's six-game unbeaten run, Jamil quipped, "Right now, we're only thinking about our next game.
Minerva is a good team and they are playing good football."
Minerva coach Surinder Singh stated that his team played really well but lacked the final touch and this cost them important points.
"We played our first four games away from our home and also our first home game was against supergiants East Bengal FC and we had no time to settle. But after that, we had a six game unbeaten run and the last two games were unlucky," he said.
Surinder also recalled his side's previous game against Aizawl FC and stated that it was a big loss for the team after the first choice goalkeeper Ravikumar was injured.