Mohammedan Sporting Club, Abahani Limited, and Brothers Union, once three giants of Bangladesh football, will play their respective seventh-round matches of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday at two different venues in the country.
Six-time champions Abahani Limited will face Brothers Union (BU) at 3:00 p.m. at Muktijuddho Smriti Stadium, Rajshahi, while Federation Cup Champion Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) will take on Rahmatganj MFS at the same time at Shaheed Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Munshiganj.
Mohammedan Sporting Club is in the second position with 14 points, one point behind the top-placed Bashundhara Kings after their six outings.
Third-placed Abahani Limited is four points behind Mohammedan. Abahani managed 10 points from seven matches. Rahmatganj MFS is in fifth place in the table with six points. Brothers Union is at the bottom of the table, obtaining only three points.
As the first leg of the 10-team league is closer to an end, all the title contenders are keen to finish the first phase on top.
Mohammedan and Abahani both won their previous matches when Rahmaganj and Brothers shared points with their respective opponents. But Mohammedan Sporting Club are highly boosted up after winning a big match when they stunned the champions and top favorites, the Bashundhara Kings, by a solitary goal.
It was the most valuable point for the Black and White, who were once also the top favorites to win the league title.
After a long time, Mohammedan kept their unbeaten run when they are now the only team remaining unbeaten with four wins and two draws from six encounters.
MSC continue their pursuit of the Bashundhara Kings, while Rahmatgonj MFS are under pressure to remain clear of the relegation places.
Mohammedan defeated the Bashundhara Kings 1-0 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in their last league match to extend their unbeaten start to the campaign to six, with four wins and two draws. Rahmatgonj played out a goalless draw in their last match at Bashundhara Kings Arena against Sheikh Russell, extending their unbeaten season start to six draws.
Meanwhile, Abahani looks to add three points to the match; on the other hand, BU is looking to improve their chances of avoiding relegation.
Abahani won the last league match over Bangladesh Police by 2-1 at Mymensingh Stadium on February 2. Abahani have scored seven goals and conceded six through six matches.
BU need to win, and they are three points adrift of safety with three matches remaining. The Gopibagh outfit played out a 2-2 draw in their last match at Muktijoddah Smrity Stadium, Rajshahi, extending their winless season start to six, three draws, and three losses.
Abahani have gotten the better of the Brothers of late; unbeaten in their last five BPL matches, they have won four and drawn one. Brothers are looking for their first league win in encounters between the two sides since December 2017.