East Bengal FC bank on dribbling tactics to make difference against Mohun Bagan Super Giant's clinical passing, dominance

Guwahati (Assam) [India], January 10 (ANI): Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) will play East Bengal FC (EBFC) in the Kolkata Derby of the Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday, at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium.
The Mariners (MBSG) will look to extend their dominant record over their city rivals, having won eight out of the nine encounters between the two teams in ISL history, with the Red & Gold Brigade (RCB) yet to record a victory against Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the competition.
They have struggled in terms of scoring, having netted only five goals in this fixture and averaging 0.56 goals per game, their second-lowest against any opponent they have faced multiple times in the competition. East Bengal FC's form has also been patchy, registering two wins in their last five games, which has seen them placed at 11th place in the points table.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant are sitting comfortably at the top of the table, boasting an impressive record of 22 goals scored against East Bengal FC. Their attacking unit, led by Dimitrios Petratos, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Jamie Maclaren, and Jason Cummings has been one of the most relentless in the league, with a goal-scoring average of 2.4 goals per game against their city rivals, their second-highest against any opponent.
Additionally, the Mariners have been solid defensively, with their total goals conceded against East Bengal FC (5) being the least they have given away against any team with whom they have played at least twice. With both teams eyeing important points, Mohun Bagan Super Giant will be looking to maintain their unbeaten streak, while East Bengal FC will be hoping to break their arch-rivals' stronghold and avoid another loss.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant have recorded a 79.2% passing accuracy against East Bengal FC in the ISL, which is their second-best against any opponent behind the 82.5% they have registered against Punjab FC. East Bengal FC will have to discover a way to break down the cohesiveness in the Mariners' passing patterns to not let them orchestrate the flow of the proceedings.
The Mariners will be targeting their fourth league double against East Bengal FC in the ISL. Against no other team have they scaled this feat more times in the competition (also NEUFC - 3 league doubles in 2021-22, 2023-24, 2024-25). Mohun Bagan Super Giant have netted in each of their nine ISL encounters against East Bengal FC.
East Bengal FC may rely on the individual brilliance of some of their key stars to produce heroics in tomorrow's match. They have logged a dribble success rate of 56.5% against the Mariners, which is their second-highest rate against any opponent, besides Mumbai City FC (57.7%).
East Bengal FC have struck the third-least goals (16) in the ISL 2024-25. They have thus strengthened their frontline by signing Venezuelan striker Richard Celis until the end of the season. Celis, 28, has represented clubs such as Atletico Venezuela CF, Deportivo JBL, Caracas FC and Academia Puerto Cabello, and can play down the centre as well as through the left flank, arguably making up for the absence of attacking midfielder Madih Talal. Whether Celis plays any part in this match remains to be seen though.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant have won eight of the nine times these sides have squared off against each other in the ISL, with one game resulting in a draw.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Jose Molina played down their impressive track record against East Bengal FC in the ISL.
"What we did in the ISL so far doesn't matter in tomorrow's game. We need to perform well, defeat them in the 90 minutes tomorrow on the pitch," he said, as quoted from a release by ISL.
East Bengal FC head coach Oscar Bruzon backed his players to perform well in the Kolkata Derby.
"We have to optimise the resources that are available to us and we have full confidence in the players who will take the field to play in the Kolkata Derby," he said.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant's Dimitrios Petratos has scored four goals in this fixture, the most by any player in the history of this rivalry in the ISL. If he scores in this game, it will mark his highest goal tally against any opponent in the ISL.
East Bengal FC's Dimitrios Diamantakos has scored in three of his five meetings against Mohun Bagan Super Giant, with four goals to his name. The forward, however, has scored thrice and assisted once this season.
In the ongoing ISL season, Mohun Bagan Super Giant's duo of Manvir Singh and Liston Colaco have recorded the highest and second-highest number of touches in the opposition box among Indian players, with 58 and 57 touches, respectively. For East Bengal FC, Vishnu Puthiya leads in this category with 55 touches in the opposition box. (ANI)