KOCHI: Kerala Blasters are on a good run at the moment having gone five games unbeaten as they take on ATK Mohun Bagan on Sunday.
While staying undefeated for a good stretch is noteworthy, three of those games have been draws which have meant that they have dropped points and languish at ninth in the table. Meanwhile, Bagan have not been at their imperious best and come into the game on the back of a defeat against NorthEast United.
However, the sight of Mumbai City losing to NorthEast on Saturday could just be the motivation that Antonio Habas' team needs after what has been a few lacklustre displays.
A win for Bagan would help them cut the gap from league leaders Mumbai to just three points and they can't let the opportunity pass them by. Habas' team go up against a team who have been playing some attractive football but are not able to score goals.
Against Jamshedpur FC, they struck the post on a number of occasions and scoring goals have been their problems.
In the reverse fixture, Habas' side ran out winners but Blasters head coach believes that his team has come a long way since then.
"The circumstances are different now," said Vicuna when reflecting on the first meeting between the two teams this season. It was a question of one detail, one defensive mistake from us that time. It was not that they were better than us".
The Spaniard would be returning to the touchline after serving his suspension and that would be a boost for the team in yellow.
As for Habas, it is all about getting Bagan's season back on track and getting back to their best.
"After the first few games and the first few rounds of the league, the team has consolidated the system which we have. We have to increase our attacking performance which is the most important thing," said Habas while suggesting that his team will have to improve especially their first-half performances and start scoring more goals.
In order to boost their attacking output and provide support to the likes of Roy Krishna and David Williams, Bagan have brought in Marcelinho on loan from Odisha FC.
"We have been improving our performance and the creation of chances in the last few matches but we will have to continue with the same purpose," said Habas.
Both teams are struggling to convert their chances and it will be a question of which team is more clinical when the two meet on Sunday.