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Bengaluru FC will be keen to get back to winning ways when they take on East Bengal FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Simon Grayson’s men, who last won in their opening encounter at the same venue, will be keen to get their season back on track after a three-game away run where they picked up just one point of a possible nine.
“The fixture list has not been kind to us. We’ve had just one out of the first four games at home, and then only this one out of the next three. If we were to want a break between playing our last fixture and the next, this was the best time. We’ve had a lot of injuries, and hopefully by Friday we’ll have a lot of those players available again,” said Grayson, speaking to the press.
Bengaluru FC came away with a point in their first away encounter of the campaign, with a 1-1 draw against Chennaiyin FC, but subsequently lost 1-0 to both Hyderabad FC and Odisha FC. Grayson says that despite the run, his boys remain positive in training and are working hard for what’s to come.
“Over the last week or so, we’ve been going into training and there’s a positive feeling in the camp. We’re a team that has won just one out of four games, but it doesn’t feel that way. I’m looking forward to seeing a more positive attitude on the pitch, and that’s something we’ve spoken about. I want to see players expressing themselves, get shots away and take people on,” the Englishman said.
Stephen Constantine’s East Bengal find themselves second from bottom, having won just one out of their five games so far, a 3-1 win over NorthEast United. Despite their run of form, the visitors have scored five times this season. In comparison, Bengaluru have netted just once in their four games so far. Speaking to the media, Grayson maintained that past results count for little, and also handed an update on Prince Ibara’s injury.
“The past is history, and whatever has happened before can have no effect on what happens on Friday. We have to put the work in and find ways to win this game. On the injury front, we’ve had a few niggles, but hope to have most of our players back for this game. Prince’s injury is unfortunate, because it looks like a serious one, which is not ideal both for him as a player, and for us as a team. He won’t be available for us tomorrow, and will be out for a considerable amount of time.”
Kick-off between Bengaluru FC and East Bengal FC is scheduled for 7.30pm and will be telecast live on the STAR Sports network, Disney+Hotstar and JioTV. Tickets to the encounter are available on PayTM Insider.
