Brothers seek end to record losing streak

Falling giants Brothers Union will be hoping to catch a break when the Bangladesh Premier League resumes today following a one-month break due to international engagements of the national team and national U-23 team.

Bottom-placed Brothers Union take on Rahmatganj at 6:00pm at the Bangabandhu National Stadium with hopes of putting an end to their seven-match losing streak, the longest in the history of the professional football league.

The Gopibagh-based outfit have not won since a 1-0 win over Mohammedan in their second match and will be looking to climb out of bottom place in the 13-team table. However, they will face a stern test from their neighbours, who are in ninth position in the table with eight points.

Brothers may be seeking confidence from their past encounters with Rahmatganj. The All Orange outfit have won 11 times against Rahmatganj's four in 18 professional football league meetings, but the fact is that results have been going against Brothers despite them putting up good performances.

Brothers coach Syed Nayeem Uddin had a full month to repair his side's weaknesses and he will be expecting a fresh start today while his counterpart Syed Golam Jilani will be hoping to keep the momentum going after 1-1 draw against a spirited Arambagh.

Away at Rafique Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh, newcomers NoFel SC take on fourth-placed Saif SC at 3:30pm with hopes of giving their superior opponents a run for their money.

"I can't tell you about the victory but I can assure you of a competitive match," said NoFel coach Kamal Babu, who opined that there may be two consequences of the long break.

"Big teams that have been showing consistent performances from the beginning may lose their momentum after the resumption of the league following a long break while small teams struggling from the outset may get back into rhythm by rectification their mistakes over the past month," said Babu.