'Tired’ Kings take on Mohun Bagan

Bashundhara Kings players will hope to shake off the weariness from their hasty arrival to India and put forth a brave show against Mohun Bagan Super Giant in their AFC Cup Group I encounter at the Kalinga Stadium in Odisha today.

The match will begin at 10:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time) after Odisha FC host Maldivian club Maziya SRC at the same stadium earlier in the day.

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions were supposed to land in Odisha on Sunday, train on Monday and then take on the Indian outfits the following day.

However, the Kings had to postpone their trip by a day due to a delay in receiving visas.

The Kings' contingent finally left for India yesterday morning and reached Bhubaneswar via Kolkata in the afternoon.

On the eve of the match, Kings coach Oscar Bruzon admitted that it wasn't the ideal preparation for his side ahead of a tough fixture.

"It is not the ideal scenario, to bring the players this late and then demand a huge physical effort tomorrow (Tuesday). But we are quite cool and quite calm. We will have a discussion. We have cancelled the official training session (on Monday) because we don't have the energy to do it," said Bruzon.

The Kings have so far won one and lost one in their AFC Cup campaign and are currently third in the four-team group.

Now, the Kings will face the group leaders in a chance to test themselves with one of the best clubs in South Asia, said Bruzon.

"In the last match against Odisha, we proved that we are a competitive unit. Tomorrow is another opportunity for us to challenge and measure our level."