FC Arkadag will face Indian Super League (ISL) side East Bengal FC in the quarter-final of the AFC Challenge League in a two-legged affair beginning with the Kolkata leg on Wednesday.

The Red and Gold brigade side are the only Indian team still active in AFC competitions this season and will look to go deeper in the tournament in which they have been unbeaten so far.

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Oscar Bruzon’s men are in good form in the league with just one defeat in the last seven matches which includes four wins and will hope to take that form into Asia.

In FC Arkadag, the Kolkata Giants will have formidable opponents who will challenge Bruzon’s men.

Ahead of the highly anticipated clash, here’s a detailed look at East Bengal FC’s opponents, FC Arkadag.

History

FC Arkadag are a very new club having been founded in April 2023 but have already earned a reputation for themselves by being very successful in a short span of time. They have dominated domestically winning the Yokary League, the top-tier league in Turkmenistan in 2023 and 2024. They also won the Turkmenistan Cup in these two seasons, thus emerging as the strongest force in Turkmenistan club football.

They are yet to fail to win a single game in their domestic league winning all their matches in the two full seasons they have been involved.

Form Guide: WWWWL

Arkadag’s last match was the final match of the 2024 Yokari League on December 9, 2024. The team is extremely dominant domestically having scored 147 goals in their 30 games in the league last season. Their only loss so far has come in the AFC Challenge League where they were beaten by Kuwait’s Al-Arabi in the final group game of the group stage.

Head-to-head record

This will be the first-ever meeting between Arkadag and East Bengal FC.

Formation

Head coach Wladimir Bayramov has deployed a standard 4-2-3-1 formation in their games so far, especially in Asia. He usually likes to have all his attacking arsenal on display in the league games but he may opt for a more conservative approach in Asia, especially away from home.

Key Players

Didar Durdyyew: The Turkmen forward is an experienced campaigner and the leading goalscorer in the club’s short history. He has scored 58 times in the league in two seasons and has already found the back of the net against Maziya R&SC in the group stage.

He started two of their three matches in the AFC Challenge League from the bench but expect their top frontman to lead the line against the Red and Gold brigade. The 31-year-old has been playing for the Turkmenistan national team since 2012.

Arslanmurad Amanov: The Arkadag captain is a key figure in the team’s midfield and has vast experience under his belt. At 34, Amanov has featured in the AFC Champions League 12 times in his career in which he made eight goal contributions (four goals, four assists). He has made his presence felt in the AFC Challenge League so far, providing two assists for his team.

His experience of playing at big, hostile away venues will come handy for Arkadag at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan where the East Bengal FC fans are expected to create an electric atmosphere.

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East Bengal FC