The Nawabs take on East Bengal in search of first away win of 2025
Hyderabad: Shameel Chembakath’s entertaining Hyderabad FC are back in action this Wednesday.
The Nawabs take on East Bengal at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata tomorrow, February 26 in what promises to be an exciting Indian Super League clash.
The Red and Gold Brigade beat Punjab and Mohammedan 3-1 in the last two games and will be confident ahead of this tie.
Oscar Bruzon will hope that his side can continue the good work against the travelling HFC side in this game.
Saul Crespo, Mahesh Singh Naorem, P Vishnu, Anwar Ali, and Hector Youste have been the top performers for the host so far this season.
The arrival of Messi Bouli has also improved the team in attack.
👊 On the road for our final away game of the season!
🆚️ East Bengal FC
🗓️ Wednesday, 26th February
🏟️ VYBK Stadium
📍Kolkata
🕢 7:30pm IST#EBFCHFC #TheNawabs 💛🖤 | pic.twitter.com/CBt0MEsLYH— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) February 25, 2025
They are a strong side that will test Hyderabad on the night, says HFC Interim Coach Shameel Chembakath.
“I think they are a strong attacking team that can create chances and trouble us in this game,” said the coach, speaking to the media ahead of this game.
“We need to be aggressive, make sure they have no space on the ball and control the tempo of the game to get a positive result,” he added.
The Nawabs scored late in the reverse fixture to secure a point in Hyderabad. This draw marked the start of a strong run of results for Coach Shameel’s side.
Hyderabad, have since found their feat and have tasted defeat just thrice in eight league games since the turn of the year.
Allan Paulista, Ramhlunchhunga, Joseph Sunny, Devendra Murgaonkar, Cy Goddard and Abdul Rabeeh have all had their moments recently.
They will want to put in a strong performance to test a sturdy EBFC backline in this tie.
But it is the heroics of the likes of Alex Saji, Manoj Mohammad, Stefan Sapic and Arshdeep Singh, that has give Hyderabad some good results recently.
Always on your toes 🟡🟢
What would your strategy be?#TheNawabs 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/BF3T6Q1B84
— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) February 22, 2025
The partnership of Saji and Sapic has shown that they can keep the best of attacks in the league quite on their night.
Andrei Alba, Ayush Adhikari and Isaac Vanmalsawma have been effective in the middle of the park and will once again be crucial to HFC’s chances in this tie.
“The boys are working really hard and we can see that they are improving in every game,” said coach Shameel, speaking about his side’s preparations for this game.
“We need to be aggressive, try to score early and not concede too many chances at the other end,” he added.
The Nawabs have just three league games left in the campaign and will want to finish it on a high.
They may not be able to climb too many spots in the league table tomorrow, but a positive result will help them go into the final two home games with a positive attitude.
The game will kick-off at 7:30pm IST and will be telecasted live on Jiohotstar and Star Sports.
