Indian Super League (ISL) side ATK Mohun Bagan will look to get their Asian campaign back on track when they host Bangladeshi side, Bashundhara Kings in their second group stage game of the AFC Cup 2022 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, 21 May from 4:30 PM (IST) onwards.
ATK Mohun Bagan started their campaign in the worst possible way when they were shocked with a 4-2 scoreline by their fellow Indian side, Gokulam Kerala FC in what was a poor game by their high standards. Head coach, Juan Ferrando admitted that failure to take their chances cost them on the night and they have to win their remaining games if they are to maintain their hopes of qualifying for the inter-zone play-off semi-finals as only one team from Group D will make it to the next round.
TEAM NEWS
ATK Mohun Bagan Squad
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Avilash Paul, Subrata Paul, Arsh Shaikh.
Defenders: Sumit Rathi, Gursimrat Singh, Tiri, Sandesh Jhingan, Ashutosh Mehta, Ravi Rana, Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal, Prabir Das.
Midfielders: Joni Kauko, Carl McHugh, Hugo Boumous, Abhishek Suryavanshi, Sheikh Sahil, Bidyananda Singh, Deepak Tangri, Michael Soosairaj, Lenny Rodrigues, Kiyan Nassiri, Ningomham Singh.
Forwards: David Williams, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Roy Krishna.
Bashundhara Kings Squad
Goalkeepers: Anisur Rahman Zico, Sultan Sakhil, Hamidur Rahman Remon.
Defenders: Khaled Shafiei, Topu Barman, Kasto Kumar Bosh, Yeasin Arafat, Md Rimon Hossain, Monsur Amin, Tariq Kazi, Bishwanath Ghosh.
Midfielders: Masuk Miah Zoni, Atiqur Rahman Fahad, Miguel Ferreira, Sohel Rana, Biplu Ahmed, Matthew Chinedu.
Forwards: Robinho, Mahbubur Rahman, Mahdi Khan, Mohammad Ibrahim, Nuha Marong, Sumon Reza, Eleta Kingsley, Tawhidul Sabuz, Motin Mia.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Matches Played : 1
Matches Draw : 1
ATK Mohun Bagan Wins : 0
Basundhara Kings Wins : 0
The only meeting between these two clubs was in the AFC Cup 2021 group stage, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw. In the first half Brazilian midfielder, Jonathan Fernandes had given the Kings an early lead through a driven shot from the edge of the penalty box. David Williams equalized in the second half courtesy of a Liston Colaco swerve pass from the left-wing. Due to that result, ATKMB ensured knockout berths in the last edition.
FORM GUIDE
ATK Mohun Bagan – LWWWL
The Mariners have won three of their last five matches and lost the remaining two. Out of which, two wins were in the preliminary rounds of the AFC Cup 2022 and most recently the loss to Gokulam Kerala FC, which was ATK Mohun Bagan’s third-ever loss under Juan Ferrando’s reign.
Bashundhara Kings – WWWWW
Bashundhara Kings have won each of their last five matches, which includes four matches from the Bangladesh Premier League and also the win over Maziya S&RC in the AFC Cup 2022 group stage clash.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
IFTWC’S MATCH PREDICTIONS
The Mariners were handed a shocking 2-4 defeat by fellow Indian club Gokulam Kerala FC in the campaign opener, as their chances of qualifying for the next round is now hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, Bashundhara Kings edged past Maldives-based Maziya S&RC by a solitary goal to sparkle up their top-spot ambitions. A loss or even a draw for ATK Mohun Bagan is enough to draw curtains on their AFC Cup ambitions, which makes the upcoming match such a vital one. Especially, after the disappointing loss in the last match, Juan Ferrando’s boys are sure to pull their socks up and stage a fitting turnaround.
Going by the overall team strengths we feel ATK Mohun Bagan has a slide edge over Basundhara Kings despite the Bangladesh champions starting the AFC Cup campaign with a win and having high confidence. The Mariners need to go all out to have a chance of qualification to the next round. Despite a shaky defence in recent games where they have conceded many goals and also the injuries to key players like Tiri and Boumous, there is enough Arsenal with Juan Ferrando to power the team to their quest for the first win of the group stage.
IFTWC predicts a 2-1 win for ATK Mohun Bagan.
MATCH DETAILS AND TELECAST NEWS
Fixture: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Bashundhara Kings
Date: May 21, 2022
Time: 4:30 PM (IST)
Venue: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Telecast: Star Sports Network (Star Sports 3)
Live Streaming: Jio TV and Hotstar