Pune, March 5 (IANS) After losing to Salgaocar FC in their last encounter, East Bengal will look to get back to winning ways when they take on top division newcomers DSK Shivajians in an I-League contest here on Sunday.
The visitors are third on the leaderboard with 17 points from nine matches while DSK are at the bottom with just six points in their bag.
In their last outing, East Bengal were stunned 1-3 by Salgaocar in Goa, whereas prior to that they had beaten Salgaocar 2-1 in Kolkata. East Bengal coach Biswajit Bhattacharya will be aware that his team cannot afford any more slip ups if they are to stay alive in the title race.
The hosts on the other hand, have drawn their last two league outings. Both times they have held fellow top flight debutants Aizawl FC to an identical 1-1 scoreline.
DSK coach Derrick Pereira would want his side to put in another strong performance and look to his forwards Aser Pierrick Dipanda and Douhou Pierre to trouble the East Bengal defence.
The red and gold brigade were found wanting in pace when they played Salgaocar last time and that is what Pereira would try and exploit.
However, the visitors have match winners in their squad who can turn a game upside down within a matter of minutes and Bhattacharya would rely on such big names like Ranti Martins and Do Dong Hyun to strike against DSK.
Martins has scored eight goals in nine matches and is the second highest scorer in the competition. Though DSK might give East Bengal a run for their money, the latter will be expected to gather the full three points from the contest.
