FC Goa play their first home game in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 against table toppers Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Thursday. The Gaurs were unlucky to be on the losing side in Mumbai last time around and will bank on home advantage to turn the tide against Bengaluru. On the eve of the tie, indiansuperleague.com caught up with Bruno Pinheiro, who lauded the fans ahead of the clash. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

Bengaluru have been in good form so far, how do you plan on facing them or surprising them?

Bengaluru have a good team. Everyone can see that they are in first position, but we also have a good team. We want to put on a good show for our fans, it’ll be our first home game. Bengaluru is also a team that likes to play and I’m sure it’ll be a very good match. We’ll fight to win the three points.

Who do you consider as a key player for Bengaluru?

They don’t really have a key player. They are very good as a team. They (have) worked together for a longer time than any of the other ISL teams, so it’s a big advantage for them.

How important is it for you to play at home?

In Fatorda, it is very different from any other stadium in India. Our fans are the best in India. For sure, they will be our 12^th player tomorrow. We hope we can reward the fans with the three points.

What will be your strongest factor against Bengaluru?

Our strongest factor will be playing as a team. We are playing well as a team, we’re putting on a good show, people are enjoying. We will fight for the three points no matter which team we play.

How do you plan to improve on the previous two games?

In the first two games, we had some mistakes. From the first to the second game, we corrected some mistakes. So I hope in this game, we correct the mistakes from the second one. Our fans should be happy that we’re correcting mistakes game by game, the only way to move forward is to get better every game.

What sets FC Goa apart?

The Goans! The atmosphere in Fatorda is one of a kind. I’m sure the foreigners that (have) come here will be very pleased and enjoy playing in Fatorda. It’s also one of the factors why I came back to Goa, it’s because of the fans. It’s our biggest advantage as a team, more than any player, more than any team.