Calcutta, Feb. 23 :    Calcutta, Feb. 23:  East Bengal open their second-phase campaign in the National League against ITI in Bangalore tomorrow and they know, it's going to be a tough away match. They will also have a point to prove, considering the 1-2 defeat against the same team here in the first leg, which started a slide, they are yet to arrest completely. The defending champions went on to lose three more on the trot, which led to the removal of coach Manoranjan Bhattacharya and new recruit Subhas Bhowmick is playing the defensive card. Can't blame him. 'They are favourites, we the underdogs,' he said before leaving. It is true because ITI are placed third after 11 matches with 19 points against East Bengal's 14 from as many games. The win over Tollygunge Agragami at home Wednesday gave Bhowmick some breathing space but he knows he can hardly afford a false move and is leaving nothing to chance. To strengthen the midfield, Bhowmick has decided to do away with Nigerian striker Omolaja Olalekan, at least for this match. Instead, he has picked the long-forgotten Soumitra Chakraborty, who may fill in for injured regular choice Dipankar Roy. Whatever combination Bhowmick picks, it's going to be a tough match tomorrow and ITI will have to be careful. With the midfield looking a lot better than what it was about a month back, East Bengal can be dangerous on their day. ITI, relying heavily on their Liberian imports, have performed beyond expectation, but they must be feeling the pressure of being frontliners now, which may work in East Bengal's favour. Churchill take on FCK With two foreign recruits absent, FC Kochin will find the going tough when they take on Churchill Brothers in Margao tomorrow, adds PTI. At the halfway stage, Mahindra United are leading the table with 22 points. Churchill are second with 19 and FC Kochin tenth with ten. Churchill, having scored 22 goals so far, look favourites to garner full points. With their new Iranian recruit Mousavi Seyed Amin, along with Ghanaian Yusuf Yakubu, Churchill look sharp in attack. The midfield manned by Noel Wilson, Aqueel Ansari and Ratan Singh also looks formidable.