Mohammedan Sporting, the only Calcutta outfit left in contention, will look to exploit home advantage and reach the Durand Cup final, when they take on Mumbai City FC in a semi-final encounter here on Wednesday.

The addition of Nigerian forward Abiola Dauda has added more power up front. He struck twice on debut for the Black-and-Whites, in the quarter final against Kerala Blasters. Mohammedan Sporting’s Russian coach Andrey Chernyshov will hope that the Nigerian, along with their Trinidadian captain Marcus Joseph, will look to give them an early advantage against a team that has scored 18 times in 20 games — the highest in the tournament so far.

“Mumbai are a strong team. But we have prepared ourselves. If we can play in our own style and play good football then we can get good results,” the coach said on the eve of the match.

Mohammedan Sporting have also been prolific up front, having scored a dozen times and have looked well-organised and settled under their Russian boss. Their defence has been their mainstay, letting in only two goals, compared to the 10allowed by the former Indian Super League (ISL) champions.

“We are expecting a really difficult game. “This is one step from the final,” Chernyshov said. On paper, Mumbai City FC have a slight edge going into the big game. “We will try to win within 90 minutes,” coach Des Buckingham said.

Kickoff: 6pm, at Salt Lake Stadium. Live on Sports 18 1