Upbeat East Bengal face Dempo in i-League encounter

Following their emphatic win at Shillong, AFC Cup semifinalists East Bengal will take on a struggling Dempo in their first home match of the I-League on Thursday. After not being in action in the first three rounds due to their AFC Cup commitments, the red and gold brigade began their campaign thrashing Shillong Lajong FC 4-0. It was creditable that they won without captain Mehtab Hossain, Arnab Mondal, Saumik Dey and T Naoba Singh for another victory before the crucial second leg of the AFC Cup semifinals against Kuwait SC here on October 22. They would be without injured duo Ryuji Sueoka and Reisangmi Vashum who who were rested against Lajong to be raring to go in this encounter. Having lost the away leg, East Bengal required a win with a minimum two-goal margin against the Kuwaiti defending champions as the local heavyweights would look for a big win against the record five-time champions. The Goans were a shadow of their past as they were yet to taste a victory with three draws from four matches.