2016-2017 I-league- Round-12 Last chance saloon for 3 coaches

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Fixtures:
SATURDAY 4th March 
Aizawl FC vs. Mumbai FC
Shillong Lajong vs. East Bengal
Churchill Brothers vs. Mohun Bagan
SUNDAY 5th March
Minerva vs Bengaluru FC
Chennai City FC vs. DSK Shivajians 
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2nd placed Aizawl (21points) host 8th placed Mumbai (9points) in what looks a great battle to kickoff the  weleends fixtures. 
Plenty of sub plots here , as former MFC coach Khalid Jamil looks to improve upon Santosh Kashyaps dream run with a NorthEastern team 2 years ago. A win here could almost certainly ensure that AFC will be challenging fornthe top 3 and also condemn Kashyap to the job queue.
Aizawl are unbeaten at home and with Kashyap uncertaun ofnhis line up , one would favour the home team. BUT injuries to key player's and a misfiring Bayi Kamo means a draw would be a more plausible result.

4th placed SLFC (16) take on leaders East Bengal (24) in a tough test for Trevor Morgans wards. They have had plenty of time to recover from the travels and should still be buoyed by their demolition of BFC last week. THANGBOI SINGTO'S  boys are well rested after their game versus Bagan was postponed. Given SLFC have always been a bogey team to East Bengal in the recent years,  the chasing pack will hope for another Lajong upset here. 

9th placed Churchill (9) take on 3rd placed Mohun Bagan (21) in a must win game for both teams.  Derrick Pereira masterminded a clean sheet and 3 goal performance against his old Club last week and will neeenmore of the same if he is to avoid the ignominy of 2 relegations in 2 seasons ! Sanjoy Sen meanwhile has to shoft focus back onto the I-League and hope to turn their games in hand into 3 points. They woule want to brsige the gap in points before the AFC distractions begin.

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SUNDAY
Both games see underfire coaches being put to the test in tough conditions.

6th placed Minerva(11) have a chance to overtake 5th place BFC (13) with an unlikely win. No one expected Minerva to take a point off BFC at Kanteerava when they 1st met , but on the bumpy Ludhiana surface the " tiki taka" of Albert Roca will be tough to enforce. With John Johnson returning , BFC should have no problem dealing with Minerva's  attacks , wht remains to be seen is if the new signing can spark some life back into the defending Champions.

Bottom club Chennia City FC (8) have nothing to lose as they take on fellow direct entrant in 7th placed DSK Shivajians(10)at a humid Marina Arena.  A win for the home team will see them leap frog DSK and pile more pressure on Dave Rodgers.  The Liverpool coach has invested more heavily than Derrick in ISL discards , yet his best performances have been from the Academy boys. The lack of goals from DSK is a real concern... Kim Song-Yong injury and the misfiring Holicharan , Seitya, Sunit Passi etc have opened the door for a young 17 year old prospect to stake his claim for the #9 spot.


Carbon_14[Deleted User]Deb_Bandeepakcashindia
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