Can Ctg Abahani, MSC survive?

Even before stepping onto the field for their third and final match, Bangladesh Premier League champions Abahani had been eliminated from the group stage of the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup for the second successive time, leaving local hopes resting on holders Chittagong Abahani and Mohammedan SC.

Although Chittagong Abahani are in a comparatively better position in Group B with four points from two outings, the group is still wide open as two teams -- Shaheen Asmayee FC and Manang Marshyangdi Club -- have three points each while Mohammedan are at the bottom with one point.

If more than two teams finish with equal points, then group champions and runners-up will be decided on the basis of head-to-head results, goals scored and goals conceded, before tallying the goal difference.

If hosts Chittagong Abahani, who need just a draw to ensure a semifinal berth, and Mohammedan can post outright victories against Manang Marshyangdi Club and Shaheen Asmayee respectively, then both local outfits will advance to the semifinals as they did in the inaugural edition.

However, defeats at the hands of their respective rivals will cause the reverse, with both teams exiting the tournament like Abahani and leaving the last-four battle as a foreign affair.