Punjab FC (PFC) will look to keep their knockout chances alive when they face East Bengal in their last Group A fixture of the 132nd Durand Cup that will be played here at the Kishore Bharathi Krirangan.
The Group F game in Kokrajhar kicks off at 3.00 pm Indian Standard Time (IST) while the second Group A game in Kolkata has a 6.00 pm scheduled kick-off.
It was yet another flawless performance by Staikos Vergetis's team here at Ambedkar Stadium. The final score was 4-0 as defender Hmingthanmawia rubbed salt in the wounds of Rajasthan United with a precise header off Juan Nellar's free-kick in stoppage time.
The Red Machines have gone through a lot of ups and downs in the ongoing edition of the I-League and currently placed fourth with 29 points from 19 outings.
RoundGlass Punjab FC had drawn the reverse fixture against Sudeva Delhi FC 1-1 at New Delhi this month with Luka Majcen scoring for RGPFC. RGPFC is currently second in the table with 40 points from 18 matches while Sudeva Delhi FC are last in the table with 12 points from 18 matches.
RoundGlass Punjab are back level on 40 points with Sreenidi Deccan, who hold the first place at the moment thanks to their superior head-to-head record over Staikos Vergetis' side.
RoundGlass Punjab FC are playing their fifth consecutive away game and this will be their last away game before going back to playing consecutive games at Panchkula, their home venue making this game against NEROCA FC a very crucial tie in the season.
On Wednesday, toppers RoundGlass Punjab fell behind twice and scraped through with a point against Mumbai Kenkre, who are second from bottom on the points table. Before the excitement of that six-goal thriller could subside, bottom-placed Sudeva Delhi defeated Rajasthan United 3-2 in another
In their previous fixture, RoundGlass Punjab recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory against Real Kashmir to open up a four-point gap at the top. However, it was soon reduced to a single point after rivals Sreenidi Deccan's win over NEROCA. Mumbai Kenkre, on the other hand, narrowly went down 0-1
In their previous game in Kolkata, a rampant RoundGlass Punjab scored four past Mohammedan Sporting to end their unbeaten home run and go top of the table. To add to the joy of the Punjab fans, title rivals Sreenidi Deccan suffered a shock loss to relegation-battling Mumbai Kenkre on Monday.