I-League: Southern derby at the fortress

Bengaluru: Tagged with the moniker of the South Indian derby and all that comes with it, Bengaluru FC will look to rubber stamp their championship credentials when they host newcomers Chennai City FC in the second round of the I-League at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, on Saturday.

It will be the first clash between the teams from these two states at the national league after 15 years.

Having opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over Shillong Lajong, while looking like they never got off the second gear, the defending champions do look like the team to beat in the tournament.

The Chennai side, who are playing their first fixture on the road, opened their campaign with a hard fought, if slightly disjointed, draw against fellow debutants Minerva Punjab FC at home.

The home side will start as firm favourites on account of not just their performances and form, but also owing to the fact that the away side has had very little time to prepare the team ahead of the league and looked wanting in terms of fitness in the first game.

Having said that, the thrill of football comes from its potential to surprise.

It’s hard to envisage any change in the BFC line-up after last week’s performance but the addition of Honduras striker Roby Norales and Indian international defender Sandesh Jhingan augurs well for the club.

However, neither of them look ready to start but could prove a useful option from the bench if need arises to chase the game and maybe even change the shape of the team.

Cameron Watson and Lenny Rodrigues seem to have struck a nice tandem playing the double pivot ahead of the defence, the former often operating so deep that he often takes up centre back positions to orchestrate play, and the onus will be on Denson Devdas, Dhanpal Ganesh and Islam Amiri to not only create but also stop BFC, led by midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh, from building steam. On evidence of their previous tie, the Chennai outfit depend primarily on the wings to carry their attacking threat. But with the hulking figures of John Johnson and Juanan at the centre of the BFC defence and Harmanjot Khabra at right back, a plan B might be a necessity.

Udanta Singh, who scored a brace in the opening week, and the nifty Sunil Chhetri, with their speed and ability to run channels, look the most potent weapons for the holders.