Sunday’s I-League round 20 will be courting history. Bengaluru FC will face East Bengal at the Kantheerva stadium in Bengaluru knowing full well that title ambitions are on the line. It will be 24 hours after Mohun Bagan play Mumbai FC and regardless of that result, The Blues will know they can ill-afford a slip-up to hand Sanjoy Sen's side a clear sail at the title, who will leave them behind. For East Bengal, they have an outside chance of winning their maiden league title as well.

Ashley Westwood, the coach of the Blue Steelmen, is aware of the good form in their stride as they recently overcame their Asian rivals Maziya S & RC besides putting in stellar performances against Pune FC and Bharat FC, in Pune, wherein they left with a full kitty of six points. However, with a tight schedule cluttering their calendar, he will want to sweep this game under the carpet in the most effective way possible.

As far as line-ups go he will want to introduce a raft of changes from the side that did the job in the Maldives. Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Shankar Sampingiraj, Beikhokhei Beingaichho all of whom were benched in favour of Thoi Singh, Udanta Singh and Siam Hangal, will regain their starting spots. Sunil Chhetri is slowly dragging himself into goal scoring form and will be expected to start himself, usurping C.K. Vineeth's position, the attacker who had scored two goals in his last two I-League appearances.

At the helm of attack, Sean Rooney will continue to operate as the number nine while Robin Singh could be given a wider role, with Vineeth coming on as a substitute. The rock solid defense of Bengaluru is not expected to have any changes with Curtis Osano and John Johnson performing admirably. Lalchhuanmawia, who was dropped altogether in favour of Keegan Pereira, will regain his spot as well, whilst the ever dependable Rino Anto will operate from right-back.

The British coach’s team were far from efficient the last time they played against East Bengal in the I-League but he will know his side need to get their act together to pull the contest out of the Red and Golds’ grasp as soon as possible. Particularly important will be the form of medio Lyngdoh, who has netted twice and registered TWO assists in the previous games. 

If Westwood is experiencing managerial highs, one after the other, Eelco Schattorie, the Dutchman in charge of Kolkata giants East Bengal, is experiencing a polar opposite. Famed for his philosophically Dutch augmented methods, the coach is breathing fire as his team has slipped away in the Asian Football Confederations (AFC) Cup, where they in all probability will finish pitch last in their group.

Now, with just the I-League top four to aim for, Schattorie will be aware of his need to get a proper response from his players and what better way than to seal a win against title tilting Bengaluru FC. Though bitterly knowing this win will probably aid their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan more than themselves, East Bengal will need to eschew all such feelings, as they seek to stay relevant in the hunt for the league title.  

First of all, Schattorie will want to forget about any player “sabotaging” his plans with Baljit Sahni not included in the squad and get the best team out to bring in a win. The merits of resting an entire playing eleven, as he did against Asian Johor Darul Takzim, is that he will have a fresh pack of players to choose from.

Harmanjot Khabra, in the coach’s words made all the difference in their AFC Cup clash and will have a starting berth cemented. TEN changes graced Schattorie’s line-up as they geared up to face their Asian opponents and all ten of them, including Khabra will play against Bengaluru.

Shylo Mamasawmtluanga will be included on the wings as Ranti Martins and Dudu Omagbemi will grace their attack, the fearsome twosome who can change the outcome of any game. Milan Susak hasn't travelled with the squad owing to an injury while Robert Lalthlamuana is suspended. With Saumik Dey too injured, Abhishek Das, Arnab Mondal and Gurwinder Singh are expected to start in defense with Raju Gaikwad and Dhanarajan competing for the left back slot. Mehtab Hossain will have a niche carved out for him in the middle of the park.

With all to play for in the business end of the I-League, both warring factions will know they need a win to justify their fans’ expectations. Westwood will be calm as he has virtually everything going for him, but Schattorie has all the tools needed to put the spanner into the works for his celebrated counterpart. Should he do so, and Mohun Bagan win against Mumbai FC, he will go into the Maroon and Greens’ history books for all the right reasons.

Both these teams have been tagged as the very ‘Best’ in India, so it’s time we see an encounter live up to those expectations. Kick-off is at 7 PM IST from Bengaluru.