East Bengal look to continue winning run

Kolkata: In-form East Bengal will look to continue their winning run when they take on bottom placed Air India in a sixth round I-League match at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Wednesday.

With five wins on the trot, East Bengal are on top of the standings with 15 points, and will hope to consolidate their position in what has been a superb season so far. Under Englishman Trevor James Morgan, East Bengal had won the Federation Cup and the Calcutta Football League and have emerged as early favourites to lift the league. East Bengal will have the edge having already beaten the Mumbai outfit twice this season, in the Durand and Federation Cup. But Morgan is not taking it easy against the Yusuf Ansari-coached side who is yet to log full points. "We have beaten them twice already, but it will be a new game tomorrow. I am not taking them lightly," Morgan said today. East Bengal`s backline, which is yet to concede a goal, will be bolstered with the return of stopper Gurwinder Singh. That is likely to be the only change for tomorrow`s game.Gurwinder, who sat out against Salgaocar due to double booking, will replace Sunil Kumar in the midfield, while the forward will remain unchanged. Striker Robin Singh suffered a niggle during practice but said there was nothing to worry about and that he would be fit enough to start alongside Australian Tolgay Ozbey. Air India have three points from five matches and Ansari said they would be happy with one point. "It will be a tough match tomorrow. East Bengal have been very tough under Morgan. It will be a huge challenge for us. We will be happy to return with one point," Ansari said. PTI