I-LEAGUE Media Team

GOA: Dempo Sports Club are among the favourites to claim the Hero I-League title but the former champions are yet to stamp their class in the competition.

The former champions have played two games, both away, and have settled for a point each when three points have been there for the taking.

Arthur Papas now guides Dempo to their first home game of the competition and he will want his team to settle for nothing less than a win against Sporting Clube de Goa at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Tuesday.

Dempo first held defending champions Bengaluru FC to a goalless draw and then shared the spoils with debutants Bharat FC, in another goalless encounter.

Dempo’s woes in front of the goal have been largely due to the absence of Tolgay Ozbey. The Australian striker was the leading striker in the Hero Federation Cup but is yet to start for Dempo in the I-League, thanks to a hamstring injury.

The former champions are also missing Afghanistan defender Haroon Amiri for a similar injury, while other injured players include Romeo Fernandes and Fulgancio Cardozo.

It is unlikely that any of the injured players will be available for the clash against Sporting Clube, although Dempo will be favourites to walk away with full points, especially after their stunning 4-1 victory over their rivals in the Federation Cup early this month.

Sporting Clube are unlikely to make the same mistakes that they made in their Fed Cup clash against Dempo. They now have a new signing in Portuguese defender Miguel Garcia at the back, although it is not clear if the former NorthEast United FC captain will start the game or remain on the bench.

Brandon Fernandes and Victorino Fernandes are also injured and will not feature in the game.

Sporting Clube de Goa started their I-League campaign this season with a 1-1 draw against East Bengal in a match, many believed, they could have grabbed much more.

Sporting were down by an early goal but recovered well in the second session to draw level.

“Against East Bengal, it was our first match and we are improving step by step. I was happy with the point but we missed too many chances. We are missing some key players,” said Sporting Clube coach Mathew D’Costa.