Calcutta: A battered and bruised East Bengal take on Viva Kearla in an I-League match in Kozhikode on Monday. With hardly anything to write home about in thus season so far, the red and gold brigade will be hoping to make a turnaround from this match.

But getting past Viva Kerala won’t be easy, especially after their 4-2 win over Sporting Clube de Goa. That has given them the confidence and they would surely fancy their chances against a demoralised East Bengal and move up the table.

However, the hosts have a major setback with captain M P Sakeer and striker Anish K P suspended for the game.

Debutant Wisut Bunpeng will replace Sakeer in midfield and Shibinlal VK will partner Reuben Senyo upfront.

The PIO Patrick Raman Sisupalan will play the role of a holding midfielder with Karma and Sirajuddeen attacking from the wings. And with Ghanaian Charles D’zisah manning the defence, Sreedharan can hope for a good outing.

Conceding goals in the opening minutes of the match has been the coach’s major concern and he will look to settle the nerves of the players before kick-off.

East Bengal are likely to start with the same team, barring of course goalkeeper Arup Debnath who suffered a ligament tear on his right knee during the match against Salgaocar.

That means Uga Opara and Govin Singh will be in the heart of the defence and Mehrajuddin Wadoo will be playing as a defensive screen in front of the back-four.

Upfront Yusif Yakubu will partner Subash Singh with Abel Hammond playing behind them.

“It’s too hot here. But thankfully for us the kick-off is at 6.30 pm when it’s releatively cooler,” coach Tushar Rakhsit said from Kozikode.

Captain Syed Rahim Nabi is confident his team will bounce back after a dismal start to the I-League.

“I am sure we will bounce back against Viva Kerala and we are confident ahead of the clash,” Nabi said.