Bengaluru eye AFC Cup campaign revival as they face Ayeyawadi United away from home

BENGALURU FC ARE going up against Ayeyawadi United tomorrow away from home in a bid to rejuvenate their fledging AFC Cup campaign.

After losing their first two matches against Lao Toyota and Johor Darul Ta'zim, BFC are at the bottom of the AFC Cup Group H. And Ayeyawadi United have emerged as a must-beat team for them if they are to make a bid for a place in the knockout round.

A club from Myanmar, Ayeyawadi started their AFC Cup campaign on the wrong foot as Johor handed them an 8-1 defeat, but they turned it around by beating Lao Toyota 4-2 on home turf. 

Spearheading their attack is none other than Nigerian striker Christopher Chizoba, who is familiar to Indian football fans for spending quite a few years playing for clubs like Mohammedan Sporting, Mohun Bagan and Lonestar Kashmir FC across both divisions in the I-League.

Whie this looks like one of the easier assignments Bengaluru will be facing in Asia this season, certain issues continue to plague the Federation Cup winners; including player injuries. But the good news is that Curtis Osano, C.K. Vineeth and Sunil Chhetri, who have missed a couple of matches due to injuries and fatigue, have all made the trip to Myanmar. Head coach Ashley Westwood said in the club's official website,

"The game against Ayeyawady is very important. We have got more chance of winning that fixture. We have to beat Ayeyawady twice and Lao once to qualify. We will be at full-strength for those fixtures and we wanted certain players to be fresh for those key games."

The British coach added that he has a definitive plan of action as the Blues approach the final months of the season competing in 3 tournaments,

"Fixtures come thick and fast if you are a good team. We are going to play in the I-League, the AFC Cup and in the Federation Cup. We are always competing for trophies at this club and that tells us that we are moving in the right direction."