Super Cup: Holders Bengaluru to take on Mohun Bagan in round of 16

New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) Defending champions Bengaluru FC will take on arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in their Super Cup opener in Bhubaneswar on March 31.Indian Super League (ISL) heavyweights Bengaluru beat I-League side East Bengal to win the Super Cup last year.I-League champions Chennai City FC will play the winners of Qualifier 1 FC Pune City and Minerva Punjab FC on March 31.East Bengal, who finished second in the I-League, will take on the winners of the qualifier between Delhi Dynamos and the team finishing ninth in the I-League on March 30.Gokulam Kerala FC are currently in ninth place but tenth placed Minerva FC can displace them if they avoid defeat against Real Kashmir in a rescheduled I-League match. Two-time champions ATK will lock horns with Real Kashmir on April 1 while Chennaiyin FC, who had a torrid season this time, will meet former I-League champions Aizawl FC in a qualifier on March 16.The qualifiers for the second edition of the Super Cup will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on March 15-16.The qualifiers will be played among teams ranked 7 to 10 in the I-League, and the ISL.The final round, which will be played on a knock-out format, will kick-off on March 29 at the Kalinga Stadium.It will be played among the top six teams of the I-League, the ISL, along with the winners of the four qualifier matches.Match schedules:Qualifiers: March 15 (5pm): FC Pune City vs Minerva Punjab FC (Qualifier 1); March 15 (8.30pm): Kerala Blasters FC vs Indian Arrows (Qualifier 2); March 16 (5pm): Delhi Dynamos FC vs Gokulam Kerala FC (Qualifier 3); March 16 (8.30pm): Chennaiyin FC vs Aizawl FC (Qualifier 4)Final Round: Round of 16:March 29 (8.30pm): Qualifier 4 vs Mumbai City FC (PQ1); March 30 (5pm): Qualifier 2 vs FC Goa (PQ2); March 30 (8.30pm): Qualifier 3 vs Quess East Bengal (PQ3); March 31 (5pm): Mohun Bagan vs JSW Bengaluru FC (PQ4); March 31 (8.30pm): Qualifier 1 vs Chennai City FC (PQ5); April 1 (8.30pm): ATK vs Real Kashmir FC (PQ6);
April 2 (8.30pm): Jamshedpur FC vs Churchill Brothers FC (PQ7); April 3 (8.30pm): Neroca FC vs NEUFC (PQ8); Quarter Finals:April 4 (8.30pm): PQ4 vs PQ5 (Q9); April 5 (8.30pm): PQ3 vs PQ6 (Q10); April 6 (8.30pm): PQ2 vs PQ7 (Q11); April 7 (8.30pm): PQ1 vs PQ8 (Q12); Semi-Finals: April 9 (8.30pm): Winner Q9 vs Winner Q11; April 10 (8.30pm): Winner Q10 vs Winner Q12; Final - April 13 (8.30pm).
--IANS dm/ajb/bc