Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings will face off against Mohun Bagan Super Giants in the AFC Cup second leg match in Group D at Bashundhara Kings Arena Stadium at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
Both teams practiced on Monday ahead of this big match. Mohun Bagan lost points to the Bashundhara Kings in the first leg. Although the team from Kolkata is leading the point table with seven points from three outings. The Kings are in second place with four points from the same number of outings.
Kings, who failed to get out of the group stage in the previous two seasons, would desperately need to win this match to stay in the race for qualification of AFC Cup.
Recent records aren't in the Kings' favor, as they failed to trump Mohun Bagan in the previous two editions of the tournament. They played out a 1-1 draw in 2021 and suffered a crushing 4-0 defeat in 2022.
Bashundhara drew with Mohun Bagan by 2-2 in the first leg held at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, on October 24.
Coach Oscar Bruzon and the captain, Topu Barman, are ready to take on every kind of challenge from Mohun Bagan. The team's only mission is victory.
Mohun Bagan is a strong team, and they have strikers to score.
Although the Mohun Bagan boys lost points to the Orissa boys, they are having a good time in the India Super League and therefore have a good chance to do well here.
The Kolkata-based team will miss Anwar Ali, the strength of the team in the defense department, and striker Ashik in the match against Bashundhara. Still, the Bashundhara boys are making all the preparations to secure the full three points from the match.
Mohun Bagan took part in the Sheikh Kamal Club Cup International Tournament in Chattogram in 2019. In the group stage of the tournament, they beat Chittagong Abahani 1-0, but they were then eliminated from the semifinals.
Before that, they were held in a 1-1 draw against Abahani during an AFC Cup fixture in 2017 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
