Kolkata, March 22: The rescheduled Kolkata derby between East Bengal FC and Mohammedan SC will be played tomorrow at the same venue, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, from 7:30 PM.

East Bengal have dropped points in their previous three matches and will be playing their fifth clash before the FIFA break. Mohammedan SC have played four matches but are yet to open their points tally and currently sit at the bottom of the table.

Despite this, Mohammedan SC have shown confidence and have threatened their opponents in every match they’ve played. On the other hand, East Bengal are eager to bounce back and climb up the points table to stay in contention. With both teams determined to prove a point, the derby seemed to be intense for both the players and the spectators.

Talking about the opponent, Oscar expects a very determined performance. He believes they will come with strong intent and try to stop East Bengal’s key strengths. He also reminded that even teams with zero points can be dangerous, just like last week in their last match they faced so there is no room to take things lightly.

On motivation, Bruzon made it clear that nothing changes. The approach remains the same, to stay focused and fight for points. He sees this match as a big opportunity to close the gap with the top teams. In a tight league, one or two wins can quickly change a team’s position.

On the other side, in the last match, Mohammedan showed a fightback but failed to capitalise on the score. However, Mehrajuddin Wadoo appreciated that there is still time to return to the main flow, as he said his team showed great fight in the previous match and dominated the last half against a tough team like Bengaluru FC.

His team is improving match by match, and he hopes they will carry this momentum into the derby. Though Wadoo addressed that against a strong rival like East Bengal FC, who have shown this season with a balanced squad of Indian and foreign players, it is difficult to compete with an Indian squad and given what they are going through this season. However, he believes that with improvement and learning, they are going to play a competitive match.

There are some injury concerns in both teams, but no card issues. As Kevin Sibille needs more time to get match fit, he was on the sidelines on matchday minus one as well, and Ramsanga was also on the sidelines. For Mohammedan SC, Hira Mondal and Mark Zothanpuia were injured but trained with the squad ahead of the final session. However, Israfil Dewan and Mohammad Jesim were on the sidelines and will not be available for the clash.

With a rich history of 259 encounters, the rivalry between East Bengal FC and Mohammedan SC stands as one of the most iconic battles in Kolkata football. While East Bengal hold the upper hand in overall 131 wins, 64 times of draws and 64 victories for Mohammedan SC reflects how competitive and unpredictable this fixture has always been, no matter the current form or position on the table, history suggests that anything can happen when these two sides meet, making this clash not just a game, but a continuation of a timeless footballing story.