Match facts
Mohun Bagan v Maziya
Rabindra Sarobar Stadium, Kolkata, 7 PM IST
Big picture
Mohun Bagan brought their AFC Cup campaign back on the rails following an opening day defeat away to Bengaluru FC, when they showed character in overturning an early 1-0 deficit to beat Dhaka Abahani 3-1 on April 4.
With just one match at home to go after this, they will look to take full advantage of the home support in Kolkata against Maldives champions Maziya, who themselves won their first away match in Dhaka 2-0 but then were beaten 1-0 at home by Bengauru.
What will also be occupying head coach Sanjoy Sen's mind is a winner-takes-all I-League clash on Saturday against Aizawl FC, which comes at the back end of three matches inside the last nine days that have required the team to travel outside Kolkata. It might force Sen to rest some key players to allow them to recover enough in time for the weekend.
Maziya began their fourth AFC Cup campaign on the right note, beating Dhaka Abahani 2-0 in an away game, which was also their third successive win in all competitions under new Macedonian coach Marjan Sekulovksi.
Maziya play a compact, short-passing game which will be aided by the lush green conditions at the Rabindra Sarobar. Expect big contributions from their four foreign players -- goalkeeper Pavel Matiash from Kyrgyzstan, defenders Romanian Andrei Cordos and Montenegro's Milos Kovacevic, and Serbian striker Aleksandar Rakic, especially if Bagan field a side with changes from their strongest possible eleven.
Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
Mohun Bagan WDWWW
Maziya WDWWW
In the spotlight
Sanjoy Sen has used the full depth of his squad in general, but one player who has not seen a lot of first-team action in recent matches is striker Jeje Lalpekhlua. One of the most consistent performers for club and country over the last three seasons, Jeje will be looking at any game time he gets as an audition to get the starting slot ahead of Balwant Singh for the I-League game in Aizawl over the weekend, with both Indian forwards often alternating starts alongside Scotsman and season's top scorer Darryl Duffy. Despite a lukewarm run in the I-League, Jeje has already scored three goals in AFC Cup matches for Mohun Bagan this season.
The Maziya attacking line will be led by Maldives international Asadhulla Abdulla, who can operate as a wide player in addition to occupying a central role in attack. Abdulla has been in good scoring touch this year, netting one of the two goals in Dhaka and also playing a key role in a good start to their Dhivehi Premier League title defence, where Maziya have won all of their first three matches, scoring six goals and conceding just one.
Stats and trivia
Mohun Bagan have won 14 out of 22 games in all competitions they have played this year, five of those coming in six AFC Cup matches.
Both teams are joint-top of the points tables in the ongoing domestic leagues of both countries, though Mohun Bagan have only two matches to go in the I-League compared to the Dhivehi Premier League in Maldives, where Maziya have played only three of their 14 matches. Maziya have won three out of three games, and the 1-0 loss in the AFC Cup to Bengaluru FC is the only defeat they have faced this year.
Jeje Lalpekhlua had scored in both legs when the two teams met in Group G of the AFC Cup last year, where Mohun Bagan topped the four-team group and Maziya finished last. Bagan won the home leg, played in Guwhati, 5-2 with braces from Jeje and Cornell Glen on February 24, while Jeje's injury time goal in Male gave them a 1-1 draw on April 27.
Maziya are bidding to make it out of the group stages in the AFC Cup for the first time, while Mohun Bagan made the round of 16 in 2016 in their third attempt in the competition, before losing to Singaporean club Tampines Rovers.