Abahani relishing Eagles challenge

Six-time Bangladesh Premier League champions Abahani are looking forward to crossing the Club Eagles hurdle in the AFC Cup as the two teams face off in a Preliminary Round-2 fixture of Asia's second-tier club competition at Sylhet District Stadium today.

The match will get underway at 3:15pm.

Since qualifying for the inter-zonal semifinals of the AFC Cup in 2019 as the first Bangladeshi club, the Dhanmondi-based outfit have been struggling to get into the group stage. They have lost either against Maldivian or Indian clubs in the preliminary round or play-off matches in the last three editions.

However, this time Abahani are confident about turning the tide against Club Eagles, who landed in Sylhet five days ahead of the match in a bid to acclimatising with the conditions. The Sky Blues finished their BPL campaign last month and will play in front of a home crowd.

Abahani will have another advantage in the form of foreign players, availing all six foreign players' quota while Club Eagles have brought only five foreign players – two Uzbek defenders, one Estonian defender, one Brazilian forward and one Sri Lankan midfielder – apart from four Maldivian internationals.

Abahani's Portuguese coach Mario Lemos identified his side as the favourites in the pre-match press conference yesterday.

"Since it's a one-off fixture, we need a victory. So, we are not thinking of anything but winning the match," said Lemos.

"The AFC Cup has always been a special competition. We are getting six foreign players to play and I am trying to understand them and trying to get the best from them. We have changed some things tactically because it is all about winning the match," Lemos had told reporters before the team's departure for Sylhet.

Ahead of the match, the rain forecast and possible ground condition also came in discussion, even though Lemos did not want to attach much importance to that.

"The players are used to playing in every condition. If it rains, they have to play. If it is hot, they will have to play and it can't be an excuse," Lemos said. "If the ground gets wet due to the rain, then they have to play the simple game instead of the pretty game because the ball stops on the heavy pitch."

Defender Rahmat Mia said, "we are hoping for something good as we have been preparing after watching the weak and strong points of the opponents. We now have 10 foreign players who have been competing among themselves to get a place in the playing eleven."

Club Eagles coach Shiyaz Mohamed, too, is hoping to get back home with a victory.

"We have come here to win the match. The preparation has been good as we came here on August 11 to adjust with the conditions and with the food. So, we are expecting a positive result tomorrow," said Shiyaz.

The winners of this match will face the winners between Machhindra FC of Nepal and Mohun Bagan Super Giants in a play-off match on August 22.