Tuesday night brings the AFC Cup back to India as Bengaluru play host to TC Sports, a team from the Maldives. Bengaluru will be looking to pick up a win as they try and continue their fantastic run of form. TC Sports will be wanting to do their best as they fight to stay alive in the competition. Let’s get right into the action ahead of the second leg.
The Stats…
Bengaluru are heading into the game in fantastic form, not losing their previous nine in all competitions. Their latest result was a 1-1 draw with Pune City in the ISL and they will be looking to improve against TC Sports as they didn’t play to the standard they have been throughout the season. Bengaluru are currently top of the ISL and five points ahead of 2nd place, they have the best goalscoring record in the league as well, scoring thirty-one goals. They have a great defensive record, after only conceding sixteen goals all season.
TC Sports are from the Maldives and their season hasn’t started as of yet, so there isn’t much I can report on, unfortunately. Their previous AFC Cup game was against Saif and TC Sports came away with a 1-0 win in the first leg and a 3-1 win in the second leg, winning the overall tie 4-1 on aggregate. That’s all I can say about them really, shame their season hasn’t started yet, otherwise you all could become experts of football in the Maldives…
Previous Leg…
The last leg was played over in the Maldives and Bengaluru came out on top, in what was a brilliant goal-fest. The game finished 3-2 and Bengaluru were in control in the game but became a little lazy when they took the lead, allowing TC Sports to get two quick goals and make it 2-2 on seventy-four minutes. Thankfully, Bengaluru managed to get a late winner on eighty minutes, meaning it’s their tie to lose.
TC Sports showed that they can be a threat to Bengaluru and, even though Bengaluru deserved the win, they were lucky in the end to win the match.
The Game Itself…
Bengaluru cannot become complacent and hope to hold on to the one-goal advantage they currently hold over their opponents. I don’t believe Bengaluru will do this and will go out from the first whistle to try and kill this tie off as quickly as they can.
TC Sports won’t be an easy pushover either, they are trying to keep their AFC Cup dream alive and they must fancy their chances as they are only a goal behind. Either way, this game is set up to be a feisty affair and it could turn into another goal-fest.
Key Player…
Now I must admit I don’t know much about TC Sports. I only know what I have told you previously and I watched the first leg, so I have a slight understanding of their key players. This may mean I am slightly biased towards Bengaluru but I do not mean to be.
One player that Bengaluru will have to keep a close eye on is Anatoliy Vlasicev. The main man for TC Sports knows how to find the net. He scored all four of their goals in the two legs against Saif and scored one against Bengaluru in the previous leg.
Bengaluru usually play a weakened side in the AFC Cup, because of the ISL season so this is why I have chosen Thongkhosiem Hoakip as my key player. He scored two of the three Bengaluru goals last time out and I wouldn’t put it past him to bag a couple more as he is always looking to impress.
Finally…
With all this being said, I’ll simply leave you with this. I expect Bengaluru to come out on top in the second leg and see themselves through to the final qualification stage. I expect the game to end two or three one. I hope Bengaluru go through as it’s great exposure for the league, so no pressure Bengaluru but the league is relying on you.
