ATN Bangla will telecast the match live from the Bangabandhu National Stadium from 4.30pm.

The two sides failed to break the deadlock in their first-leg clash and a draw this time would dent both sides' chances in one of the tightest title races ever in domestic football.

A win will put the sky-blues, who attempt to win their first major title in six seasons, back to the top but Brothers cannot afford any slip from now on.

"We can reach 38 points if we win all our matches," said Brothers manager Amer Khan, whose side have five matches in hand.

"It's tough and other contenders are likely to go beyond that mark. But we want to give it a try to keep our slim hopes alive," told Amer who rued the loss against Muktijoddha last week.

"That was our chance to make a comeback. We dominated that match but eventually lost following a mistake. The problem is that our bench is not very strong although our main team is fit to play," he added.

The Oranges, who will be looking forward to their first win in three games, will heavily rely on the firepower of Nigerian striker Junior, who has struck two hattricks to share the joint top-scorer's place with Mohammedan's Paul on 14 goals.

Young striker Tapu, who has not played a full match due to fitness problems, is expected to start as Junior's partner with Syed Nayeemuddin, the Gopibagh outfit's Indian coach who is tipped to take over the national team on conclusion of the inaugural professional league, set to stick to a 4-4-2 system.

Rumours have been rife that Brothers are not interested for the championship with their hopes very little and ready to help expectants Abahani and Mohammedan.

"Why should we do that? We still have a chance however small it is. I don't understand why the media, which blasted us for playing allegedly 'fixed-matches' when we won the Premiership, remain silent now as Abahani and Mohammedan are gearing up?" asked Amer. "The teams even submitted a joint letter against Brothers then. Now these teams are not talking against the two."

At the other end of the city at Dhanmondi, Abahani manager Satyajit Das Rupu was more concerned about his line-up.

"We are expected to make one change in the midfield but the defence and the attack will remain as the last game," said Rupu, whose side recorded two hard-fought wins in the previous outings after a 7-0 demolition of Rahmatganj.

Abahani, on 32 points from 15 ties, put end to their first-leg goal drought with national striker Emily getting back his scoring spree but the scene has also changed in the rear as the team conceded more goals.

Emily has scored seven goals from five second-leg matches including a hattrick to take his total tally to nine but it seems that the absence of Argentine defender Mariano Caporale has been a setback.

"Three out of four goals scored against us in the second leg were for defensive lapses. We have to get out of that. We are not in a position to drop points because we have only a three-point advantage over Mohammedan, who have played most of their big matches.

"So, every match is pressure for us. But its possible to beat a team like Brothers if our players can apply themselves in the field," added the former national midfielder.

Amalesh Sen, who took over from Argentine coach Diego Cruciani in the latter part of the first-leg, has guaranteed only one foreigner in the side in Ibrahim as Emily's partner up front.

Obi Mikel John's place at the right side is under threat from inform Abdullah Parvez, who has shown the aptitude to outsmart the Nigerian.