Aizawl FC host Shillong Lajong in I-League (Preview)

Newcomers Aizawl FC, who parted ways with their Spanish coach Manuel Retamero Fraile midway into the season, will host Shillong Lajong in an I-League football contest at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.

Former Mohun Bagan coach Jahar Das has been roped in as Aizawl's new coach in the hope that they would now perform better. The northeast outfit are seventh on the points table with just four points from six games.

Their opponents are in the sixth position with seven points from five games and were hammered 0-4 by Kolkata giants East Bengal in their last match.

Aizawl too were handed a 0-2 defeat by East Bengal when they were in Kolkata on February 2.

But with a new coach and their home supporters cheering them on, Aizawl will look to turn the screws on Lajong when they clash on Saturday.

Both sides boast of attackers who are capable of turning a match on its head. Alfred Jaryan and Yuta Kinowaki have been getting on the scoresheet for the hosts and Das would exactly want the same from his strikers.

Lajong coach Thangboi Singto on the other hand would be wary of Aizawl's counter attack and needs to organise his defence carefully to seal the gaps.

Pace upfront and quality would not be much of a problem for Singto as he has the likes of Fabio Pena and Uilliams Silva to latch onto the ball and dart forward.

A win for either side would help them climb up the points table, and so both teams would hope for a win.