The match kicks off at 2 pm IST.

Hosts Aizawl is seventh with 14 points from 15 games. The Mizoram team has now picked up five points since new coach Stanley Rosario took over. They also have a game in hand over Bagan.

Bagan, on the other hand, is currently sixth and will give it their all to finish as high up the table as possible.

Aizawl is clear favorites for this game. The first leg in Kolkata ended in a 2-2 draw thanks to a brilliant freekick by David in added time. That game probably started Bagan’s slide. Aizawl beat Minerva Punjab FC in their previous game. Surely a confidence booster! Bagan has lost one and drawn two, going into Saturday’s contest.

Bagan looks formidable thanks to an attack comprising of Cameroon striker Dipanda Dicka (he has scored seven goals so far), Ugandan forward Henry Kisekka and Haitian winger Sony Norde.

Coach Khalid Jamil was very clear about his ambitions at the pre-match press conference: “We are not thinking about the past. We are not taking tomorrow’s match lightly. We are trying to concentrate all through the 90 minutes. Aizwal’s management is good and they have good players. We must finish well, our target is to finish top four.”

The new coach is trying to build a fighting unit. He is known to be defensive in his approach. Bagan has displayed a compact and tactical defence. The back-four comprising of Eze Kingsley, Gurtej Singh, Bikramjtit Singh, and Amey Ranawade has exhibited a valiant defensive show. They have cut-off the supply for the opposition.

Aizawl’s last game against Gokulam Kerala was postponed. They were stuck in Kashmir due to heavy snowfall after their match against Real Kashmir FC. Aizawl, therefore, will play after a rest of 15 days. That would be an added advantage on home turf!

Coach Stanley Rozario drove home that point in the pre-game presser: “After I got the charge of the team, there were a few transformations and we had different results in the past three matches and they were all big matches.

“Tomorrow’s game is with a big team and we will try to give our best. The Mizo players are very talented. If they play well and as a team then definitely we can be in a better position,” he said. “The three points are very important for us tomorrow. Mohun Began has good players but they are also struggling for results. We have an upper hand since its a home match,” he said.

They have had sparks in Mapuia and David, while foreigners Kromah, Dodoz and Jaryan have been at par. For some reason, the team has not been able to gel well. We are all set for an entertaining game of football!

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It may be noted that the title aspirations of both teams are long gone. The game kicks off at 5 pm IST.

Gokulam missed their earlier game against Aizawl FC at Kozhikode after being stuck in Srinagar due to heavy snowfall. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has rescheduled the game for February 28 at the same venue.

Arrows had beaten Gokulam 1-0 in the previous leg thanks to Amarjit Singh Kiyam’s goal.

The home team is currently in 10th spot having garnered 12 points from their 15 games so far. Despite reining in Gift Raikhan as Technical Director, they have not been able to get back to winning ways. They last won a game almost three months back!

Arrows, on the other hand, have bounced back from early losses and are in a respectable seventh position on the table. They have five wins to go with 11 losses and a draw.

Gokulam gained two points in their last six games. It came after four straight losses! In their previous game, they lost to Real Kashmir in chilling weather conditions amid a mix of rain and snowfall.

The only silver lining for Gokulam in recent times has been Marcus Joseph, the top scorer of the Trinidadian pro-league. He scored twice for his new club in four games.

Precocious talents like Rajesh, Arjun Jayaraj, VP Suhair, Gani Nigam and Baoringdao Bodo should help them get a positive result on Saturday.

Raikhan had a clear objective in mind at the pre-game presser: “We will be playing a home match tomorrow. It is a vital match for us as we need three points. We have prepared ourselves for tomorrow’s match and the boys are ready with full motivation. Tactically, physically and mentally, we are ready for tomorrow’s match. We have five matches remaining in our hand one is away and four at home. We will collect as many points as we can and try to be in the top six so that we can go directly to the Super Cup.”

Arrows have steadily improved and it has resulted in growing confidence levels. Although they lost 2-0 against Chennai City in their previous game, they made the league leaders sweat for the full 90 minutes. Sandro’s moment of brilliance turned the game in Chennai’s favor.

Their coach Floyd Pinto expressed confidence at the press conference: “Expecting a similar kind of match and hoping to get the same result as last year. We are going to work really hard. We aim to finish as high as we can in the table. If we can get any points from tomorrow’s match it will help us. We are in the 7th position, but we have played more matches. We have three matches left and we will try to give our best. The boys have kept improving and they are more comfortable this season. Most of our games have been fine margins.”

A good game is on cards as both teams look eager to improve their respective positions in the league table.

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Chennai City FC is the league leader and is two points clear of debutants Real Kashmir FC. Neroca is in the fifth spot.

The visitors scored thrice in the first half as Pedro Manzi (34’; 41’; 45’+1’) registered his fourth hat-trick of the season. Neroca bounced back in the second half through Felix Chidi’s 52nd-minute strike followed by a goal each from Chencho and Aryn Williams in the 68th and 88th minutes respectively.

Manzi was adjudged the Hero of the Match.

Chennai missed one part of their Spanish armada as defender Roberto Eslava didn’t play with Pandiyan being his replacement. Slovak utility player Jozef Kaplan featured in the first XI as coach Akbar Nawas put Jesuraj on the bench.

Manuel Fraile also made two changes to the home team’s starting line-up as he played Tondomba Singh and U-22 player Naocha Singh in place of Ashok Singh and Abdul Salam respectively.

Neroca dominated the first half as left-winger Singham Subhash Singh troubled the Chennai defence with repeated forays down the left flank.

Two such forays in the 17th and 20th minutes found out Katsumi. The Japanese went closer from the first attempt as he made good contact on the near post but missed the target.

A wonderful ball from Aryn Williams in the 26th minute found Chencho through. The Bhutanese sniper rounded the goalkeeper only to have his attempted cross from a narrow-angle cut out for a corner.

But in the 34th minute, as has been the norm this season, Chennai’s Spanish trio combined to give them the lead against the run of play.

Sandro found Nestor Jesus on the left flank with a long ball from just inside Chennai’s own half. The mercurial Nestor cut in and played Manzi in. Manzi swooped in and slid the ball into the net between goalkeeper Lalit Thapa’s legs. It was his 14th goal of the season so far! Nestor also recorded his sixth assist with as many goals in the season.

Liberian defender Varney Kallon inexplicably gave the ball away to Manzi with only the goalkeeper to beat. The striker drove forward and coolly slotted home over the custodian’s right shoulder in the 41st minute.

Neroca had a chance to get a goal back as Malem was in the clear thanks to a fine ball by Aryn Williams. But the midfielder’s powerful strike was superbly saved by substitute goalkeeper Kabir.

Manzi completed his fourth hat-trick of the season in the first minute of added time. Pandiyan broke away on the right and delivered a cross towards goal and Manzi struck with his left foot out to beat Thapa on the near post.

Neroca had other ideas and was not going down without a fight as they struck early in the second half through substitute Felix Chidi.

Chencho played Chidi inside the box from the left in between two defenders. Chidi controlled the ball, rounded the goalkeeper, and slid it into the empty net for his sixth goal in the league so far.

A wonderful move by Williams from the right had Chidi’s header go wide of the goal from close range. Neroca who had created pressure with two successive corners got their second goal through Chencho.

Singham Subash crossed in from the right flank and Katsumi headed it back towards a lurking Chencho. He controlled and drilled the ball past goalkeeper Kabir to score his second goal in as many games.

This is Chenco’s second stint in the Hero I-League; he was the star performer the previous season.

He missed a chance to draw the game level after a defensive lapse had him one on one with Kabir, who pulled off a brilliant save to deny the hosts.

A shaky Chennai looked to have scraped through for a win only for Neroca to make it 3-3 with Williams’ goal in the 91st minute.

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Kahani FC play MSP Academy in the opener (9 am kickoff).

Ten teams have made it to the second or the playoff stage of the tournament (to be played from January 15 to 24) to be played after the preliminary zonal round. The ten teams are divided into two groups of five each. The top two teams from each group (and the best third-placed team) will make it to the final round where 11 more teams will join the fray. The final round is set to get underway from January 27.

The playoff round will be played at Navelim Ground and Utorda Ground.

Along with a host of football academies and local clubs across India a number of I-League and Indian Super League (ISL) teams will also play. The likes of Real Kashmir, Minerva Punjab, Shillong Lajong, Aizawl FC, Jamshedpur FC and Kerala Blasters have made it to the playoffs.

Group I
Real Kashmir FC
Kahani FC
MSP Football Academy
Minerva Punjab FC
FC Mangalore

Group II
Kerala Blasters FC
Aizawl FC
Raman Vijayan Soccer School
Jamshedpur FC
Shillong Lajong FC

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Though Kashmir are level on points with second-placed Churchill Brothers they still are behind on goal-difference. The Snow Leopards are third in the 12th Hero I-League table (at the time of writing).

Aizawl made three changes to the team as Govin Singh, Paul Ramfangzaua and youngster Lalremsanga played. Lalremsanga made his first start in the I-League in place of the injured Ansumanah Kromah and Lalkhawpuimawia.

Real Kashmir coach David Robertson fielded the playing XI which had won against Mohun Bagan. Aizawl defender Kareem played out of position (in attack) alongside skipper Alfred Jaryan and local boy Paul Ramfangzaua. Despite early promise Aizawl’s attack petered out as striker Remsanga was shut out by the towering Kashmir defenders.

Aizawl had a good chance to score in the first-half but Remsanga’s shot went past the crossbar! Kashmir on the other hand had their own woes as was evident by striker Kofi Tetteh’s predicament. Tetteh failed to score despite rounding goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh in the first-half.

The absence of striker Gnohere Krizo hurt Kashmir who looked inept in front of goal. Full marks to Richard Kassaga who marshaled the Aizawl defence throughout. Come the second-half and as Tetteh dummied a pass to Suchandra, the latter’s powerful shot was blocked by Kassaga.

Kashmir later went on the offensive while Aizawl were defending in their own half. And as Danish Farooq’s curler was acrobatically saved by Gurpreet, the home fans voiced their approval. The home team did make one last attempt to score but the game eventually finished at 0-0.

Aizawl skipper Alfred Kemah Jaryan’s gusty performance earned him the ‘Hero of the Match’ award.

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The contrast in fortunes of the two teams is apparent by the gulf in the points table. Kashmir are third while Aizawl are a rung above bottom in the 11-team league.

Aizawl have a new coach in Standley Rosario (he replaced Gift Raikhan who had resigned). Kashmir on the other hand haven’t had such issues as coach David Robertson looks confident about the team’s goals and objectives.

The debutantes have built their success on a sturdy defence and sound goalkeeping. They have cleverly used the available players with a few also being played out of position for the sake of the team.

The foreign recruits have also filled in the gaps.

The emphasis has been on fitness with youngsters shuffled around cleverly to get the job done.

Robertson, who put up a pragmatic front on the eve of the game said: “We come to play well in every game. As we are a new team in the league, its difficult for us to set our foot. As long as we do what we do, we shouldn’t have any issues but anything is possible here. We have started well and our aim is to stay in the league. For us, its more about enjoying the league.”

Aizawl on the other hand have been grossly inconsistent which eventually resulted in the departure of Raikhan.

Though Mapuia and David have showed promise still the foreign brigade — Kromah, Dodoz and Jaryan — has been average or below par. Team chemistry is also an issue.

Rosario will have the services of new recruit — Uganda’s Richard Kassaga in defence — their weak link (Aizawl has leaked in 18 goals so far — only second-best to Shillong).

Aizawl’s assistant coach Jonathan who attended the pregame press conference had this to say: “We will fight for three points as it is our home match and we don’t want to lose this game. Standley will arrive today and will be there for the practice. We will be planning the game strategy as it will be a challenging match for us. Real Kashmir are high on scoring and there defence and passing are strong. Our players are also motivated and we will be giving our best.”

He ruled Ivorian striker Ansumanah Kromah out with injury.

Despite their good run none of Kashmir’s players (with 15 goals among themselves) feature in the top-five of the goalscorers’ list. But then the new players scoring has definitely worked wonders!

Bazie Armand’s is a classic case: after a winner against Aizawl in the first-leg he also scored in other games.

The odds are heavily in favor of the ‘Snow Leopards’ while Aizawl have a mountain to climb.

Also Read: HERO I-LEAGUE: Bagan down Minerva to stay alive in title race

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That may be true given Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty’s assessment: “Real Kashmir’s team confidence level is in a very good position because of the points on the league table. In the last two matches, they have won one and drawn the other game with big club teams. They have been performing pretty well.”

Kashmir have had a dream run in the Hero I-League so far. And victory at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) would take them within touching distance of second-placed Neroca FC.

The debutantes are on a six-game unbeaten streak with three of those wins coming away from home. Of course they did lose to Bagan in the previous leg at home…but that was in the past!

If rock-solid defending is the hallmark for Kashmir (the 1-1 draw against East Bengal at the VYBK is a good example) then the same cannot be said for Bagan.

“We have played Mohun Bagan in our TRC ground, but we didn’t do enough to get something from the game. We just hope we will be able to play well tomorrow again as we played the last match. It was the first time that many of our players are playing on such a big stage. Although Mohun Bagan have lost the last match when a team loses they do have a high possibility of bouncing back,” said David Robertson (coach, Real Kashmir).

“We are in good form. We have done a lot better than expected. Since March 2017 we haven’t lost a single away match, (but) at some point it will break. As long as we keep playing and fighting as we have been, then we have half a chance tomorrow. If you don’t keep eye on strikers of Mohun Bagan for full 90 minutes, they might cause a problem just like what happened in TRC ground. We are a big club. We’ve just got to continue defensively. We have been very good and we have to make sure to remain tight. We know it for sure that it is going to be a tough game,” he added.

While Kashmir has conceded only six times so far Bagan has leaked in twice the number of goals. The duo of Kofi Tetteh and Gnohere Krizo may run rings around the home team who welcome back Sony Norde.

“Sony Norde is fit and will be there in first 18. We will be playing tomorrow’s match for winning the three points. Kashmir is a very good team, especially their foreigners – very strong physically as well as technically too and the local players who are also working as a team, bringing them to the top of the league. We have been showing a positive attitude towards improving in both attacking as well as in defence too,” said Chakraborty.

Bagan need Dipanda Dicka and Henry Kisekka (the duo have a combined total of eight goals) to fire while Kashmir may play the waiting game.

Though Kashmir have Bilal Khan (goalkeeper) and Loveday, Katebe, Mason Roebrtson, Dharmaraj Ravanan and Abhash Thapa (all defenders) still write Bagan off at your own peril on Sunday!

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In contrast, Minerva Punjab, who are also defending champions, remain in seventh spot after Saturday’s 2-0 loss.

Minerva’s Yu Koboki had two good chances in the first-half but was denied by Churchill custodian James Kithan.

And Churchill boss Petre Gigiu’s decision to introduce Wolfe in the 50th minute turned out to be a masterstroke!

The Trinidadian scored in the 61st minute and then put the game beyond Minerva’s reach with a penalty in the 84th.

This win allows Churchill to arrest their recent slump in form.

Minerva on the other hand have taken only two points from their last four games.

Churchill (currently in third spot) would be overtaken by Real Kashmir if the northerners beat Mohun Bagan on Sunday.

The Red Machines take on Gokulam Kerala in their next game.

Super-sub Wolfe was rightly adjudged as the ‘Hero of the Match’.

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