Bengaluru FC take on a buoyant Odisha FC side in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The Blues will be looking to go top of the table with a home win but face a stern test against an Odisha side, which has won their last four on a trot.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat stressed the importance of a win from the home tie and said, “All the remaining matches are important ones because we only have 15 points to earn and we need to work on that. We have the support of the people at Kanteerava to help us get the three points. Odisha come into the match after a very good performance, but we have been putting up good performances in all our home games this season. We have been getting the points, we lost only against Mumbai, but the rest of the games we have been very strong at home. We will fight for the three points against Odisha.”

“We know we might have lesser possession than them. We are a team that play well in transitions. We have situations where we can make an impact on the game like in set pieces, so let’s see whether we can manage the situation and beat them at home,” the 51-year-old added.

Individual mistakes cost Bengaluru their last match against Mumbai City FC. The Spaniard admitted that the loss was a bitter pill to swallow for his team and noted, “After the last game, we felt really down. There were a lot of things that happened that can normally affect the mental health of a team. Now, for us, it’s the moment to try and change the situation. As a team, when we make mistakes that we normally wouldn’t do, it creates a shock. There were a lot of other situations which did not allow my team to not get the win. This made our mental situation fall.”

Cuardrat, however, was confident of his team’s ability to bounce back and said, “We have been working on building the team’s mental situation. So, I have been talking with Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu) and (Harmanjot) Khabra to support them. I have been talking to Sunil (Chhetri) as well because he missed out on a chance to go to the top of the goal-scoring charts.”

The head coach was joined by new signing Deshorn Brown, who spoke about his move to the Hero ISL and the challenge ahead. “I have been hearing about the league for the last three years and it feels right to be here with a good club. But it’s the middle of the season and it’s very difficult to come here and try to adapt, but I’m putting in the hard work and hopefully it will pay off,” he said.

Read the Match Preview here.