FC Goa will be keen on picking up a victory after two consecutive draws in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21. They will be facing SC East Bengal at the Fatorda Stadium on Friday and can extend their unbeaten run in the league to seven matches with a positive result against the Kolkata club.

Currently third in the standings with 20 points, the Gaurs will be eager to get the better of Robbie Fowler’s men after a 1-1 draw between the teams earlier in the season. A resilient outfit, Goa have won 10 points after conceding the first goal and that was also the case in the reverse fixture against SC East Bengal. The Gaurs tend to score mostly from open play having netted 13 goals in such a manner – the most by a team in Hero ISL 2020-21.

A free-flowing side while moving forward in attack, Goa have scored 18 times so far – 12 of which have come in the second half. They tend to finish matches strongly and have netted seven times in the last 15 minutes. Defensively, they will need to stay switched on during set-pieces having conceded nine times from such situations.

"This game is as important as any other game. We will play in the same way we have played in the last 13 games. It's one more step towards achieving our objective,” Gaurs assistant coach Clifford Miranda said ahead of the game.

Meanwhile, SC East Bengal will be looking to return to winning ways following a slender loss against Mumbai City FC in their previous outing. The Kolkata club need to start picking up wins soon and have to begin converting draws to victories to keep their semi-final chances alive. They must start scoring goals quickly to pick up wins and improve on their tally of just 11 goals – the least by a team this season.

The likes of Matti Steinmann, Jacques Maghoma and Anthony Pilkington have played well in parts but need to be more consistent with their performances. Aaron Joshua Holloway and Bright Enobakhare are two other players capable of making the difference for their teams and will be hoping to be at their best for the Kolkata club.

Defensively, SC East Bengal have conceded 13 goals in the second half – the most by a team this season. They need to address their second half shortcomings, especially taking the fact that Goa tend to score most of their goals in the second period into account. Furthermore, the last 15 minutes of matches have seen SC East Bengal concede five, which will be of concern for the Kolkata club since Goa tend to finish matches strongly.

“We go all out to win every game. I mean this season we have gone three games with 10 men …The first 10 games were almost trial games since we don’t the know the players …Sometimes a penalty can be the deciding factor whether you win or whether you draw or maybe a poor decision, so there is such a fine line,” SC East Bengal assistant coach Tony Grant, ahead of the game, replied to a query if his team needed to go all out now against FC Goa in order to get an outright result and stay alive.

Squads:

FC Goa

Goalkeepers: Mohammad Nawaz, Naveen Kumar, Shubham Dhas, Antonio D’Silva, Dheeraj Singh

Defenders: Sarineo Fernandes, Aiban Dohling, Ivan Gonzalez, James Donachie, Leander D’Cunha, Mohamed Ali, Sanson Pereira, Saviour Gama, Seriton Fernandes, Adil Khan

Midfielders: Alberto Noguera, Alexander Jesuraj, Brandon Fernandes, Edu Bedia, Flan Gomes, Jorge Mendoza, Lenny Rodrigues, Nestor Dias, Phrangki Buam, Princeton Rebello, Redeem Tlang

Forwards: Aaren D’Silva, Devendra Murgaokar, Igor Angulo, Ishan Pandita, Makan Chothe

SC East Bengal

Goalkeepers: Debjit Majumder, Mirshad Michu, Suvam Sen, Subrata Paul

Defenders: Samad Mallick, Daniel Fox, Scott Neville, Narayan Das, Mohamed Irshad, Gurtej Singh, N Rohen Singh, Lalramchullova, Rana Gharami, Anil Chawan, Raju Gaikwad, Ankit Mukherjee

Midfielders: Sehnaj Singh, Matti Steinmann, Jacques Maghoma, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Wahengbam Luwang, Bikash Jairu, Yumnam Singh, Surchandra Singh, Loken Meitei, Mohammed Rafique, Aaron Joshua Holloway, Anthony Pilkington, Milan Singh, Haobam Singh, Ajay Chhetri

Forwards: Balwant Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua, CK Vineeth, Girik Khosla, Harmanpreet Singh, Bright Enobakhare

Live Broadcast Schedule:

Hero ISL 2020-21 Match 75: FC Goa vs SC East Bengal

Date: January 29 (Friday)

Time: 7:30 PM onwards

Channels: Star Sports Network

Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV