Blues Look To Bounce Back To Winning Ways; Erik Paartalu Ruled Out For Remainder Of Season

New Delhi: Bengaluru FC Head Coach Carles Cuadrat said that his side will look to get back to winning ways, as a clash against Delhi Dynamos awaits them at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in New Delhi, on Sunday. However, in what is a big blow, Australian midfielder Erik Paartalu was ruled out for the remainder of the season, after suffering an injury to his knee in the clash against Chennaiyin FC.

While Cuadrat rued the hard-tackling Aussie’s absence, he expects the rest of the squad to contribute as Bengaluru reach a crucial stage of the season. “When you are so close to the play-offs, you have to think about the crucial games. It is unfortunate that Erik picked up an injury in Chennai which will rule him out for the season, but that’s football. We rotated the squad to try and avoid that, but on this occasion, Erik hurt himself in going for a tackle. It’s especially tough because he is an important player who was having a very good season, but I expect the others to step up in his absence,” said Cuadrat.

Sitting atop the League table with 31 points, Bengaluru’s participation in the play-offs may be confirmed on Saturday, should Jamshedpur FC fail to win in their match against FC Pune City. The Josep Gombau-coached Dynamos side are placed ninth on the table, but are on a four-match unbeaten run and have found momentum post the AFC Asian Cup break.

“I have always maintained that all the teams in the League are dangerous and Delhi Dynamos is no different. They have a good coach, a mix of talented players and play good football. Last week we had problems against Chennaiyin FC and the week before, against Kerala Blasters. Delhi’s position on the table is not an adequate reflection of the quality they have in their squad and we are aware of that,” Cuadrat said.

The Blues arrived in the capital on Friday, and had a light training session the following day where they welcomed Udanta Singh, Dimas Delgado and Albert Serran back, after being rested for the previous clash in Chennai.

Delhi claimed their first win of the campaign in their final game before the break, and added to that in the second phase opener. Bengaluru are yet to claim a win in Delhi, having lost 2-0 to the Dynamos in January 2018, their only clash in the capital.

The game kicks off at 7.30 pm and will be telecast live on the Star Sports network, Hotstar, Colors Kannada TV and Jio TV.