Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru start busy April against each other

: After a 16-day break, Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC meet in the 10th I-league here on Saturday. It will begin a sequence of matches that both teams hope won’t make them feel how cruel April can be. Between April 1 and the end of the 10th I-league on April 25-26, Mohun Bagan will play eight matches, one more than Bengaluru FC. That includes two games in AFC Cup where they are in the same group.

What makes the fixture congestion more difficult for Bagan is that they are in contention for the I-league and the AFC Cup.

Asked about games in quick succession — Bagan play six games between April 1 and 19 including successive rounds in Shillong and Ludhiana — coach Sanjoy Sen said the players have had a long break and he would like to take one match at a time I-league is almost mission impossible, Bengaluru FC can focus on bettering being runners-up in the AFC Cup. To that end, their coach Albert Roca hinted at resting some players with an eye on away trip to Maldives on April 4. In the I-league, Bengaluru FC are fifth with 18 points from 13 rounds, five less than third placed Mohun Bagan

“Thank you for rubbing it in,” said striker Sunil Chhetri when asked whether being out of contention for I-league helps Bengaluru FC. “But the brain doesn’t work like that. Even though our chances of winning the league are, say 1%, you still don’t want to give up. It will be tough for the players who travelled from Myanmar but trust me Mohun