Kings, Abahani the teams to beat

After a five-week break following the completion of Federation Cup due to international engagements of the national team and Abahani, domestic football is set to get rolling again with the Bangladesh Premier League beginning today at three separate venues.

On the opening day, defending champions Bashundhara Kings will host newcomers Uttar Baridhara Club in Nilphamari, title contenders Sheikh Russel KC will play at home against Chattogram Abahani in Sylhet and three-time champions Sheikh Jamal DC will face Brothers Union in Dhaka.

Last season some five to six clubs were tipped to be in title race, but newcomers Bashundhara Kings made it a one-team affair after taming six-time champions Abahani in Nilphamari in the latter part of the first-phase.

Sheikh Russel brought a slight bit of excitement by beating the Kings in the second phase which only delayed the celebration of Kings' maiden league triumph on debut season.

This season, however, is expected to be a bit hard for any title aspirants as Federation Cup witnessed a lot of ups and downs irrespective of strength of clubs.

Big teams like Sheikh Russel and Sheikh Jamal failed to get out of the group stage while giants such as Abahani and new powerhouse Saif SC were eliminated from the knockout rounds. Surprisingly, newcomers Bangladesh Police qualified for the semifinals while Rahmatganj MFS stunned all to reach the final where they were beaten by Bashundhara Kings.

The relegation battle is going to be competitive too as there is hardly any difference among the lower-table sides, especially due to presence of quality foreign players this season.

"It has been proved that there are no big or small teams in the Federation Cup. If the small teams can keep their temperament in the league, then the big teams will have to face stiff challenge from the small teams," Rahmatganj MFS coach Syed Golam Jilani said. "There is hardly any difference among the local players and I think the foreign players will make the difference."

Brothers Union manager Amer Khan believes the league will have two race -- title and relegation -- and both races will be very close.

"I think we might watch some upsets in the league as each team will have to travel to six districts to play away matches and it won't be easy for any team," Khan said.

Khan also added that the recent busting of gambling at different clubs will also have an impact on the performance of small teams, who used to collect money from gambling boards to run training camps.

Mutkijoddha Sangsad coach Abdul Kaiyum Sentu believes the relegation fight will be tougher than the title race because teams like Uttar Baridhara, Rahmatganj, Mohammedan, Arambagh and Brothers Union are seemingly of equal strength.

"After the Federation Cup, all clubs know the strengths and weaknesses of other clubs and they got one month to prepare for the league, so it is going to be a tough league," Sentu said, adding that they will fight to secure full points against all teams expect for Bashundhara Kings, who he believes are an exceptional team full of versatile players.

Uttar Baridhara coach Alfaz Ahmed, however, believes the title race will confine to among Bashundhara Kings and Abahani, like the previous season.

"I think the league is going to be a repeat of the last season because Bashundhara Kings and Abahani are the best sides on the paper and then come Sheikh Russel and Chattogram Abahani while the rest of the teams are almost of equal strength," said the former national striker.