Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings will take on Indian Super Cup champions Odisha Football Club in their second match (first-leg home match) of the ongoing AFC Cup 2023-24 Group D on Monday.
The match will get underway at the Bashundhara Kings Arena at 6:00pm.
This is a new milestone for Bashundhara Kings Arena as it is going to host the international club match for the first time
The Kings Arena, which earlier hosted two international matches (FIFA Tier-1) between Bangladesh and Afghanistan last month, will begin a new journey by hosting their maiden match in the international club competition.
Kings, who have been taking part in this continental club football competition since 2020, played one home match at Bangabandhu National Stadium here as the competition has been taking place at the centralized venues in Maldives and India respectively for the last two years.
However, both Kings and Odisha started their respective campaign in this year’s AFC Cup with defeats.
Kings lost to Dhivehi Premier League champions Maziya Sports and Recreation Club by 1-3 goals in their first-leg away match in Maldives while Odisha lost to Kolkata outfit Mohun Bagan Super Giant in their home match in Bhubaneswar, both on the first match day on September 19.
The BPL champions have never been beaten at their den in domestic leagues; their Spanish head coach Oscar Bruzon is determined to continue this record in the international events as well.
“We have never lost two games in a row, also we have never lost any game in our arena (Kings Arena). I’m not excited at all. I think that this game, we should not put emotions, just use emotions in the right way,” Oscar said during a pre-match press conference at Kings Arena on Sunday.
“We have been just focusing on the game. We have been doing a very detailed analysis of Odisha for the last two weeks. We are aware that tomorrow’s game is gonna be of maximum difficulty. The excitement is for the people surrounding us. But for us it's about full focus,” the coach added.
While asking about their previous defeat to Maziya, Oscar replied, “In our first game against Maziya, the expectations were very high but the reality was that our preparation was not good. But right now we have no excuses, Bashundhara is back. I think we are again at our maximum potential,” he said.
While asking about their expectations against Odisha, Kings Brazilian captain Robson Robinho replied, “We know we have a tough match tomorrow. But we have worked hard for this match. All the players inside the pitch will give their best to get a good result on Tuesday.
“I think if we give our best, we can get a full three points. It is our home match, we will have a big support from the crowd. This is very important for us. But that doesn’t mean the match will be easy for us. It is gonna be tough,” he added.
Odisha’s Spanish head coach Sergio Lobera, who were also present in the press conference, said that the match is going to be very tough for his team.
“We are ready for this challenge. We are going to play against a very good team. We lost the first game in the AFC Cup. That was a difficult game for us. We know the situation now. We also know the level of our opponents but we have our tools… we have our full squad ready.”
In the day’s other match, Mohun Bagan SG will host Maziya SRC at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata, India at 8 pm (BST).
BDST: 0920 HRS, OCT 02, 2023
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