FC Pune City travel to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru to play league leaders Bengaluru FC on Friday. The Stallions were hopeful of a resurgence after picking up their first victory of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 against Jamshedpur FC, but then lost to NorthEast United FC. A victory against a team like Bengaluru could prove to be a mammoth task, but if they win, it could prove to be the turning point which they so desperately need.

Head coach of Pune, Pradyum Reddy was present at the pre-match conference to share his thoughts on the encounter. When asked about a possible change in plans against Bengaluru, he replied, “The plan is the same for every game, irrespective of what has happened in the past. It is a good challenge, you want to test yourself in every football game. The best test at the moment this season is to pit your wits against Bengaluru because they are the team that is at the top of the table. It will be a great feather in our cap if we can manage to win tomorrow.”

Reddy further went on to talk about the main problems his side have faced so far and how they plan to address it. “The defence has been an issue over the course of the season. But I think in the last match we were pretty organised, it is just that we conceded from a set-piece which has been a bit of an Achilles heel for us this season. I think the bigger concern is that we have to find the right balance. Because of the fact that the team has not settled, these things can happen,” he said.

The 42-year-old coach also took the opportunity to lavish praise on Bengaluru and believes the absence of star forward Miku won’t make much of a difference. “I wouldn’t exactly say that they are weakened without Miku. If you look at Bengaluru, collectively they are very strong. They don’t rely on any one individual. They work as a unit and it is exemplified by what Sunil Chhetri does. In the game against Delhi Dynamos, he was sprinting back to stop Rene Mihelic from crossing the ball in the 80^th minute. That collective team effort is something you see in teams that are at the top of the table,” Reddy commented.

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