Mohun Bagan Super Giant will look to keep their domestic treble dreams alive when they face Kerala Blasters in the first quarter-final of the Kalinga Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
FC Goa face Punjab FC in the second clash of the day at the same venue.
Bagan have decided to field a second-string side in this tournament and assistant coach Bastab Roy, who is filling in for head coach Jose Molina, will be the man shouting instructions from the sidelines.
Defensive midfielder Deepak Tangri is the captain.
Bagan are coming off their inspired ISL-XI double, but face a motivated Kerala Blasters who saw off East Bengal 2-0 in the round-of-16 clash last Sunday.
Bagan got a bye to the last eight after their last-16 rivals, Churchill Brothers pulled out, accusing the All India Football Federation of favouritism toward a particular side when the tournament draw was done.
Bagan coach Roy wants to make full use of the tournament at his disposal. “Our main intention is to enjoy the game, and see how the young players cope at this level. We have not put any pressure on them to go and win.
“We’ve all been training for about a week. Our team, however, is not all about youngsters. We have some experienced players like Deepak (Tangri), Sahal (Abdul Samad) and Ashique (Kuruniyan),” he said.
“Kerala Blasters have good players, and our task is cut out. They are one of the best teams in the country.”