AFC Cup: Mohun Bagan Look To Test Bench Strength Against South China

Having secured pre-quarters berth, table toppers Mohun Bagan may rest their key overseas duo of Sony Norde and Cornell Glen in their Asian Football Confederation Cup group G league match against a determined South China at the Indira Gandhi Stadium on Wednesday.

The duo have played a key role in Mohun Bagan's success this season as they had blanked the Hong Kong outfit 4-0 in the first leg on March 9 en route to logging 11 points from five matches in Group G.

Unbeaten Mohun Bagan are five points clear of South China, who have lost three matches this season, and Sanjoy Sen may look to ring in radical changes in the team with its return leg of Federation Cup semifinal against Shillong Lajong FC slated in four days' time.

While Mohun Bagan can take it easy, South China, who lie a point ahead of Yangon United and Maziya, cannot afford to relax. The result will determine their pre-quarterfinal hopes and their Brazilian coach Jose Ricardo Rambo believes that his team can progress to the next phase of the competition.

Goalkeeper Debjit Majumdar, defenders Kingshuk Debnath and Dhanachandra Singh and midfielder Pronay Haldar may also sit out of the starting line-up.

It means some players who have not played much this season and promising youngsters like Azharuddin Mallick will get the opportunity to impress at the big stage.

Fresh from his hattrick in a 5-0 hammering of Shillong Lajong in the home leg Sunday, Jeje Lalpekhula may play a key role in the frontline.

South China rode on a Mahama Awal's late goal to defeat a 10-man Yangon United 2-1 in their last group G match on April 27.

A win for Rambo's men will guarantee progression. However, if Yangon United and Maziya draw then South China simply need to replicate that result.

Rambo was impressed with how his players reacted to the pressure of being involved in such a must-win game against Yangon United and sounded confident that they can use this momentum to get past Mohun Bagan and into the knockout stages.

"The players were under quite a lot of pressure as we had been unable to get results in recent local matches," the 44-year-old said.

"And we knew that only the win could bring us life in this competition. We now have a great chance to qualify. It was a great effort from every player, they showed that they have good quality and good capacity to go to the next round," he said, sounding a warning to Mohun Bagan.