On a high after a clinical performance in their opener, ATK Mohun Bagan would look for back-to-back success and move closer to qualifying for the knock-out stage when they face Maziya Sports & Recreation of Maldives in an AFC Cup Group D match in Male on Saturday.

Antonio Lopez Habas’ side defeated fellow-Indian club Bengaluru FC 2-0 on Wednesday. A win on Saturday could put ATK Mohun Bagan on the verge of a knockout berth from Group D but Habas is keeping his focus only on the match.

“We are taking one match at a time,” said Habas. “It’s the same idea to give absolute respect to the opponents and we will need to develop our football on the pitch. In football, you might have one bad situation that could change the outcome.”

The Spaniard said his players will need to play with intensity throughout the 90 minutes. “We know how they (Maziya Sports & Recreation) played with other teams, but we have to see how they will perform against us, because maybe they might play differently with a different behaviour.”

The home side, on the other hand, are coming into the match after a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings. They fell to two first half goals against Bashundhara but head coach Risto Vidakovic is hoping to build on their second half performance to upset ATK Mohun Bagan.

Difficult task

Bengaluru FC, on the other hand, will have their task cut out as they look to return to winning ways against Bashundhara Kings.

Despite coming off the defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli on Friday maintained there was no pressure on his side.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the encounter, Bengaluru boss Pezzaiuoli said the Bangladeshi side were a force to reckon with, having made light work of their league campaign, which they secured with four games left to play.

“We’re up against a team from Bangladesh that scored 55 goals in the League and are champions. They conceded only nine goals in the League, and won their first group game 2-0,” Pezzaiuoli said.

The winners of the four-team Group D will advance to the inter-zone semi-finals against either FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan or FC Ahal of Turkmenistan from the central zone.

Today’s matches

⚫ Bengaluru FC vs Bashundhara Kings (4.30pm IST)

⚫ Maziya vs ATK Mohun Bagan (9.30pm IST)