Aloke Mukherjee

New Delhi: East Bengal coach Aloke Mukherjee is planning to launch an all out attack when the Calcutta side take on Ahli Sana’a in their concluding AFC Cup group league tie in Sana’a on Wednesday.

With seven points from five matches, the red and yellow brigade are currently placed second in the four-team group, two points behind group leaders Al Safa, whose home match against Jordon’s Al Wihdat has been postponed because of unrest in Lebanon.

A win over the Yemen side would put East Bengal a point ahead of Safa and assure them of at least the runners-up spot in the group, which could provide a ticket to the last eight. While winners of the five groups will make the quarter-finals, the three ‘best losers’ will grab the rest of the positions.

Mukherjee, when contacted, said that nothing less than a victory would be able to earn them a place for his team in the next round. “It’s a tough bargain, so we will go all out.

“It could have been better for us if we had defeated Safa in our last match. We missed out several chances. Tomorrow we can’t afford to commit the same mistake,” Mukherjee added.

East Bengal, who practised in the evening, are confident of toppling the hosts in the key encounter. “The weather here is fine and though the local side haven’t lost any of their matches at home, we stand a chance of breaking this record,” Mukherjee said.

East Bengal will miss defender Debabrata Roy through suspension and Anupam Sarkar is likely to take up his place in the left back position. “I thought of putting (Rahim) Nabi in defence but that would weaken my midfield,” Mukherjee said.

Ahli Sana’a, meanwhile, will be hoping to end their campaign with a win now that qualification is beyond their reach.

The 10-time Yemen league champions are at the bottom of the group after collecting just three points from five games and will be hoping to register their first victory against the Indian side. The coach Mohamad Al Yaraimi hoped his players will not be affected by a lack of suitable preparation.

“We were unable to prepare well for the game as we couldn’t find a suitable stadium to train in,” said Al Yaraimi. “It’s really disappointing that we couldn’t prepare the way we would have liked.”