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Bengaluru FC were asked to leave Maldives by their government after three of their players were caught breaching Covid-19 protocols in the island country. Ironically, the AFC recently postponed all the Group D matches of the AFC Cup, owing to the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Bengaluru FC, who are set to play against local side Eagles FC on May 11 in their AFC Cup play-offs, landed in Male, Maldives, on Friday. If they win the upcoming match, the Blues will join ISL club ATK-Mohun Bagan, Maziya FC (Maldives) and Basundhara Kings (Bangladesh) in Group D of the qualifiers.

Bengaluru FC breezed past Nepal's Tribhuvan Army FC in their second preliminary round fixture at the GMC Stadium, in Bambolin, last Wednesday to enter AFC Cup play-offs. Clieton Silva and Rahul Bheke each scored a brace, while Sunil Chhetri netted once to register an emphatic win.

German manager Marco Pezzaiuoli will be in charge of Bengaluru FC for the first time when they take on Nepal's Tribhuvan Army Club in their AFC preliminary round match, this Wednesday evening, in Goa. The Blues are the most successful Indian team in the competition, having reached the final in 2016.