ISL: East Bengal would like to take advantage of Hyderabad FC's inexperience

Hyderabad, 17 February (HS). When East Bengal FC take on Hyderabad FC tonight at the Gachibowli Stadium for the second match of the double header day in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24, the red and gold brigade will look to take advantage of the inexperience of the hosts. The Red and Gold brigade have not registered a win since winning the Kalinga Super Cup last month.

They played out a 2-2 draw in the Kolkata derby and this was followed by consecutive defeats against NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City FC. This has hurt their playoff chances and they need an immediate comeback. The Red and Gold Brigade are placed 10th in the table with two wins and five losses from their 13 matches.

They have been winless in their last six matches in the ISL, with their last win coming against NorthEast United FC by a 5–0 margin on 4 December. So, they will be hoping for a positive result against Hyderabad FC who are looking for their first win of the season. Hardly anything has gone right for the hosts this year, so East Bengal FC's faltering form is also not encouraging them too much at the moment. This is a good opportunity for both these teams to make things right.

“We are trying our best as a team,” Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto said in the pre-match press conference on Friday. is it enough? No, but it's a learning process every day with all the youth and the new staff we have at the moment. But, we are planning to the best of our abilities and trying to execute it properly in the training sessions.”

East Bengal FC's Spanish head coach Carles Cuadrat, recalling the 0-1 defeat to the Islanders in the last match, said, “As I have always said, we do not look for excuses. In the last match, to play against a top team like Mumbai City FC, we had to change many players and the players gave their best efforts on the field.”

Let us tell you that so far 7 matches have been played between the two teams in ISL, in which Hyderabad FC has won 4 matches and East Bengal FC has won 1 match, while 2 matches were drawn.