Coach Carlos Pereira and Jose Ramirez Barreto during a practice session on Saturday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Mohun Bagan are on a roll. Having won a thriller against East Bengal a week ago, the Premier League leaders take on Mohammedan Sporting on Sunday. The match will also bring the curtains down on the first leg of the championship.

If current form and fitness are anything to go by, Carlos Roberto Pereira’s boys should have a cakewalk. But as has happened so often in the past, such calculations hardly hold true in ‘big’ matches. Shabbir Ali is hoping for an upset in an effort to boost the team’s morale ahead of the Federation Cup.

Mohun Bagan will miss Peter Siddiqui, out with a double booking. No doubt his absence will add to their defensive woes. Coach Pereira, however, tried to put up a bold front.

“I am not worried about the defence… We may have conceded a few goals but that doesn’t mean the players are prone to making mistakes. I am pretty satisfied with their performance…

“Mohammedan Sporting are a good side. They may not have enjoyed much success of late, but they are good. There is no room for complacency,” the Brazilian coach said after practice on Saturday.

Jose Ramirez Barreto is hoping they will continue with their wining run. “A win by a big margin should be the ideal build-up to our Federation Cup preparations… We are confident.”

There is some confusion over Anit Ghosh playing on Sunday. He has reportedly picked up two yellow cards but the IFA’s record books show just one.

Mohammedan Sporting are banking heavily on their new recruit Paul MacJames Nwachuku. The Nigerian impressed on his debut against Eastern Railway on Thursday, and Shabbir is hoping the brawny striker can break into the fragile Bagan defence with his speed and opportunism.

Basudeb Mondal’s experience should also come in handy.

Only last season, Mohammedan Sporting defeated Mohun Bagan in the first leg.