FC Pune City welcome Bengaluru FC in the first leg of the first semi-final of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune on Wednesday. The Stallions will be wary of the Blues, who have already beaten them at home in the league phase. Their Brazilian forward Marcelinho has been in top form again this season, having scored eight goals and provided seven assists so far. Last year’s Golden Boot winner spoke to indiansuperleague.com on the eve of the match and shared his thoughts. Here are the excerpts.

Bengaluru have already beaten Pune this season. How does that affect the team’s mentality?

For me, this is something different. Now, everything starts from zero. This is like another championship. It will be a very good challenge for two good teams and I am sure it will be a good game to watch.

How different do you think the semis will be compared to the league phase?

Like I said, we will start from zero. We have a lot of motivation to reach the final and become the champions. We are playing at home first, so we have to avoid conceding before we go for the away fixture. We will give our best in the first match. So, let’s see what happens.

Is there a team you wanted to avoid in the semi-finals?

For me, maybe Jamshedpur FC and Mumbai City FC. These two are good teams that should have been there in the semi-finals.

What do you think is better: playing at home first or playing away first?

I don’t have any preferences. Because ultimately, we will have to play both. But, I think I would like to play at home first because for me home advantage is very important.

Where will tomorrow’s game be won or lost?

I really don’t know. We are very good offensively, so maybe in our attack.