The game will be played at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here on Wednesday at 5:45pm.
Dhaka Abahani got an impressive 5-2 goals victory over Rahmatganj MFS in the 13-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football on June 15.
Abahani’s key striker Sunday Chizoba scored his first hat-trick of the ongoing BPL while midfielder Jewel Rana and forward Nabib Newaz Ziban netted one goal each.
The comprehensive victory gave the club a confidence boost ahead of their home match against the Nepalese club.
Dhaka Abahani’s head coach Mario Lemos said that they have a good chance of winning against Manang Marshyangdi.
“We had good preparation. The players are very confident after the BPL match. Also, we’ve played against Manang Marshyangdi. We have an idea what they can do. We must win tomorrow’s game,” he said in a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Dhaka Abahani’s key player Nabib Newaz Ziban said they are confident about Wednesday’s game.
“We have played well in the last match. We have also defeated Chennaiyin FC in a big match. We will play tomorrow to win,” he said.
Manang Marshyangdi head coach Chhiring Lopsang said that they are also ready for Dhaka Abahani.
“We have already made our preparation. We are taking tomorrow’s game very seriously. We came here to win,” he said.
Manang Marshyangdi captain Biraj Maharjan that they will give their best in the game.
“Before coming here, we trained for two weeks. Abahani are a very strong side. We will give our best tomorrow,” the captain added.
However, Abahani’s three key players – Topu Barman, Atiqur Rahman Fahad, Wellington Priori – will not play the game on Wednesday while Manang Marshyangdi will play without their key striker Afeez Olawale Oladipo.
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has announced free entry for all supporters.
In another group match of the AFC Cup on the day, Indian I-League champions Minerva Punjab will host their compatriots and former Indian Super League champions Chennaiyin FC at 3pm (local time) at Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati, India.
In their last matches on May 15, Dhaka Abahani Limited defeated Chennaiyin FC by 3-2 goals at the Bangabandhu National Stadium keeping the hope for becoming the group champion alive.
Manang Marshyangdi played to a 1-1 draw with Minerva Punjab at ANFA Complex in Kathmandu.
Dhaka Abahani Limited and Channaiyin FC collected seven points so far from four matches with two wins, one draw and one loss. But, the Tamil Nadu-based Channaiyin Club remained on the top of the four-team group by virtue of better goal difference by one goal.
Manang Marshyangdi earned just two points from four matches with two draws and two defeats.
Another Indian side Minerva Punjab secured four points from four matches with four draws.
Dhaka Anahani started the AFC Cup campaign beating Manang Marshyangdi Club by 1-0 goal in their first match in Kathmandu on April 3, but played to 2-2 draw with Minerva Punjab in their second match in Dhaka on April 17.
Dhaka Abahani Limited conceded a 0-1 defeat against Chennaiyin FC in their third match at the Arena Stadium in Ahmedabad on April 30.
On the other hand, Manang Marshyangdi conceded a 0-2 defeat to Chennaiyin FC in the second match on April 17 at the Arena Stadium in Ahmedabad on April 17 and played to 2-2 draw with Minerva Punjab in their third match at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on May 1.
Dhaka Abahani: Md Shahidul Alam Sohel (C), Rayhan Hasan, Nabib Newaz Ziban, Waly Faisal, Sunday Chizoba, Masih Saighani, Kervens Belfort, Jewel Rana, Rubel Miya, Mamun Miah, Imtiaz Sultan Jitu, Sohel Rana, Pranotosh Kumar Das, Mamunul Islam, Tutul Hossain Badsha, , Saad Uddin, Nayeem Mia, Sultan Ahmed Shakil, Faisal Ahmed, Hafizur Rahman, Mohammad Ridoy, Dipok Roy, Mohammad Rony, Ariful Islam, Syed Arafat Hossain Tasin
Manang Marshyangdi Club: Bishal Shrestha(GK), Biraj Maharjan(C), Muhammed Asif, Kamal Shrestha, Devendra Tamang; Bishal Rai, Heman Gurung, Sujal Shrestha, Anjan Bista, Ashok Baral, Bishwakarma Suraj, Tshring Gurung, Tej Tamang, Prakash Budhathoki, Abhishek Rijal, Pravesh Kunwar, Suman Aryal, Rajesh Pariyar, Aashish Lama, Sanjok Rai, Bimal Rana, Deep Karki, Bishal Basnet, Saheed Oluwasgina Azeez, Somide Oluwawunmi Adelaja
Standings of the Group E of the AFC Cup’ 2019 (Tabulating under match played, win, draw, loss, goal for/goal against and points):
Teams MP W D L GF GA GD P
FC (IND) 4 2 1 1 5 3 2 7
Limited (BAN) 4 2 1 1 6 5 1 7
Punjab (IND) 4 0 4 0 5 5 0 4
Marshyangdi (NEP) 4 0 2 2 3 6 -3 2