Bengaluru eye top spot

Westwood's men take on newcomers DSK today

Bengaluru FC’s head coach Ashley Westwood said his side will be under no illusion when they take on I-League’s newest team DSK Shivajians in an encounter that will have a big bearing on their title chase, at the Balewadi Stadium here on Wednesday.

With only four games left to play for, Bengaluru are a just a point behind leaders Mohun Bagan, having played two games lesser. The Kolkata side, who conceded at the death in a 2-2 draw away to Shillong Lajong on Tuesday, have now picked up just one point their last three games. While a win against DSK would send Bengaluru two points clear at the top with a game in hand, Westwood said his side is well prepared for the challenge.

“We’re approaching the last two or three weeks of the season and we’ve got a big ten days in front of us. We play DSK then East Bengal and Salgaocar but we can only plan for the next game which is against DSK and we’ve done our homework and we’re well prepared,” said the Englishman on Tuesday.

Slow off the blocks, DSK have done well to get into a groove of their own and are on a five-game unbeaten run that includes impressive wins against East Bengal and Sporting Clube de Goa. “DSK are a difficult side to face as they’ve turned a corner. They’ve made a couple of good signings including the new Spanish boy (Juan Quero) who’s come in and made a difference. We’re under no illusion and we’ll have to be at our best to try and get something out of this game,” said Westwood.

Bengaluru are on an impressive run of their own, winning three and drawing one from their last four games.  Young Daniel Lalhlimpuia turned up with the winner against Mumbai FC on Saturday, going to show the kind of depth Bengaluru has. The win also marked the return of Eugeneson Lyngdoh from injury and the midfielder showed more than just a few glimpses of what he brings to the team.

On the injury front, skipper Sunil Chhetri could be in the reckoning after missing out on the Mumbai FC game with a sore groin.

“We've done our work and the lads are in good form. We're hopeful of having a few more bodies back on the pitch for this game and a few more selection problems which is what you want at this stage of the season,” opined the Bengaluru coach.

Sporting face Aizawl
Meanwhile in the other tie, Sporting Clube de Goa will be desperately looking to collect full points when they lock horns with Aizawl FC at the Nehru Stadiumin Margao.

Sporting have not won a match in their last five outings and are now fighting to avoid relegation. Even Aizawl are in the same boat.