A win will guarantee both sides the second place but Brothers, on 16 points, can briefly take the lead ahead of table-toppers Mohamme-dan (17 points), who have an opportunity to keep their position by beating second-from bottom Youngmen's Club three days later.

The break has allowed the two local giants to bury their injury problems as well as giving rest to the tired legs. Masud Rana is expected to return to the Brothers backline apart from Moroccan midfielder Hicham Inani after missing out in the last game.

On the other hand, the Sky Blues will be relieved to see Nizam back under the bar after absence in three games.

The men in orange, who began the league with four straight wins but suffered an upset 1-0 defeat to Arambagh and drew goalless with Mohammedan, revealed their real strength in their last match when they came from a goal down to crush Muktijoddha 3-1.

Taking inspiration from their scintillating second-half display against Muktijoddha, Brothers will no doubt go for the kill against Abahani, who have lost both their matches to the Gopibagh outfit earlier in the season.

"We were not playing well but conceding an early goal against Muktijoddha was the wake-up call we needed to find the rhythm," said Brothers manager Amer Khan.

There was more good news for Brothers as their Russian striker Victor Edwards, the top scorer last year, was relieved of family problems.

"Victor has not been at his best. But I think he is prepared to flourish after knowing that his wife has given birth to a son on the night of our Muktijoddha match," Amer said adding that young striker Emily, who struck twice in the last game, will start as Victor's striking partner ahead of Khokon.

"There is always pressure when you play crowd-favourite teams like Abahani and Mohammedan. But the attendance is so low this season that we don't have to bother about any crowd pressure. As there is little difference between the top teams, I think performance on the given day will matter."

Having struggled throughout the season, Abahani were almost written off as title contenders when they took only two points from three consecutive matches -- draws against Arambagh and Mohamme-dan before losing 2-0 to Muktijoddha.

However, a 2-0 victory against Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra without three key players -- their only league match without conceding a goal -- pushed them to the third place with 14 points.

Abahani, who lost 4-0 and 1-0 to Brothers in their previous meetings, will be boosted by the return of skipper Joy and Ghanaian striker Ibrahim who missed the Russel match due to suspensions.

"We have to win everything from now on to stay in the title race and if we win tomorrow, we will topple Brothers in the table," said Abahani manager Satyajit Das Rupu.

It would be teasing to give Tipu a place in the starting line-up, especially after his opening goal in the last match, but the team management is likely to keep Farhad in the side.

"He has missed a lot of chances but he shown the skill to reach in the correct position all the time. His finishing is not perfect," said Rupu about Farhad.

Abahani have failed to include a third foreigner -- a defender -- for the big game and their experiment with the suspect defence is expected to continue. Wali Faisal is likely to start as rightback in place of Obaidur, who often leaves big gaps after overlapping.