AFC Cup 2021: ATK Mohun Bagan vs FC Nasaf Interzonal semi-final- Match Preview- Squads, Live, Line-ups and more

After topping Group D of the AFC Cup convincingly, ATK Mohun Bagan are three steps away from creating history. On their way stands the formidable Uzbekistan team FC Nasaf, nicknamed as Dragons by the fans, and the former AFC Cup Champions in 2011.

ATK Mohun Bagan have included Euro 2020 star Joni Kauko in their squad, while key names like Deepak Tangri, central defender Tiri and record signing Hugo Boumous miss out due to injury or suspension. The Mariners will be lead by Roy Krishna, and while Michael Soosairaj has also been included in the squad after his long-term ACL injury. The Mariners are the only Indian team left in the Asian competitions and will be hoping that they can go all the way and achieve a feat that no other Indian club has done before.

On the other hand, FC Nasaf are a team that has enough firepower to stop the Mariners from creating history. They were the runners-up of last season's Uzbekistan Super League, and have been a consistent team in the AFC Champions League. The club is managed by Ruziqul Berdiev, and he will aim to add another AFC Cup trophy to the club's cabinet.

The Uzbekistan team is currently sitting fourth in the Uzbekistan Super League and are out of sight to win any major trophy this season, so the AFC Cup becomes their primary goal and target to achieve. The Dragons had a perfect group stage before, in which they won all three games and kept a clean sheet in all three games. The club does not have any injury concerns but will be looking to capitalize on the home advantage today. The match will be played in the Qarshi Markazi Stadium, and have only lost two matches out of the eleven they have played this season.

"We are well prepared for tomorrow's game, It's true that our domestic championship ended a long time ago, but we played in a lot of games, and there haven't been any problems," said Amrinder Singh, the goalkeeper of the ATK Mohun Bagan.

The Mariners will not be favorites going in this match, and they will have to cause a major upset if they want to go through to AFC Cup Inter-zonal final.

The Dragons will only be fielding three foreigners i.e Serbian strikers Marko Stanojevic and Andrija Kaluđerović, and Burkina Faso midfielder Faysal Traore.

Predicted Line-ups

FC Nasaf (4-3-3)

Umidjon Ergashev (GK), Dilshod Saitov, Khusniddin Alikulov, Umar Eshmuradov, Sherzod Nasrullaev, Marko Stanojevic, Akmal Mozgovoy, Khusain Norchaev, Bakhrom Abdurakhimov, Oybek Bozorov, Andrija Kaludjerovic.

ATK Mohun Bagan (3-4-3)

Amrinder Singh (GK), Pritam Kotal, Carl McHugh, Subasish Bose, Manvir Singh, Joni Kauko, Lenny Rodrigues, Michael Soosairaj, Liston Colaco, David Williams, Roy Krishna.

Where can you watch the ATK Mohun Bagan vs FC Nasaf Match?

The match will kick off at 8:30 pm IST on September 22, 2021, at the Qarshi Markazi Stadium, Qarshi in Uzbekistan. The match will be telecast on the Star Sports Network and be streamed live on platforms like Hotstar and Jio TV as well.