Asian time for Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru FC

Mohun Bagan will play Abahani Limited Dhaka at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in their second AFC Cup Group E fixture, while Bengaluru FC travel to the Maldives for their match against Maziya S&RC.

Bagan's first venture, against Bengaluru FC, had ended in defeat and the Katsumi Yusa-led side will look to get a few points on the board at home. With the club in action in the I-League a couple of days back, Sen stressed that there would be changes to the line-up but the goal was to pick up a win.

"We are playing for three points. Yes there will be two or three changes but the players are motivated to do well," he said. Sen was candid in admitting he did not have much of an idea about the opposition. "No idea about them," he said.

"Sony (Norde) might not know all the players because it was three seasons ago when he played there. But I will definitely talk to him once we get to know their squad list," he added. Norde had faced Abahani when he played in Bangladesh.

Sen also said that the Kolkata Derby next weekend would not distract them from the AFC Cup. "I do not see this as a dress rehearsal for the Derby. I do not care about it now."

Abahani coach Drago Mamic had formerly coached Churchill Brothers in 2010-11. "I was proud of my time at Churchill Brothers, (with whom) I defeated Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the IFA Shield," he recalled.

BFC TRAVEL
Bengaluru's season is not going well having won just four of their 14 league games, and 12 points behind league leaders Aizawl with just four games left. The AFC Cup has so far been the silver lining in new coach Albert Roca's BFC tenure. Having got three points in their first match, they'll need to build a winning streak to make something of the year.

Coach Roca had rested Sunil Chhetri and Eugeneson Lyngdoh — both of whom started for the national team during the international break — against Mohun Bagan over the weekend in an I-League. However, the 0-3 loss was more evidence of side in trouble. "I expect a different Bengaluru tomorrow. They rested their players in the league, it means they are giving importance to the AFC Cup. So we need to be ready for that," said Marjan Sekulovski, Maziya coach.

Roca though was guarded and said he expected a fierce contest despite a fresher line-up. "It's going to be a difficult game against Maziya. They won their first game in Bangladesh. We expect a really tough game tomorrow."

BFC's run to the final got Roca's campaign off to an incredible start and now it remains the only positive. Does that add pressure to this season’s contest? "I don't feel pressure of being the runners-up. There will be pressure on any team who always want to win. But this is a challenge for us to come here and do our best and try to win."

The two sides had met twice before with BFC finishing 2-1 winners on both occasions. Only one of the four sides in Group E — BFC, Maziya, Bagan and Abahani — will advance to the next round.