Hosts Nepal and well-known foes Bangladesh will seek improvements in the attacking department when they lock horns in the title decider match of the Three Nations Cup at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwor on Monday.

While Nepal national team's goal drought continued for the eighth match in a row including the 0-0 draw against Kyrgyzstan youth team, Bangladesh also have not scored a single goal of their own in the last four matches despite edging Kyrgyz U-23 side 1-0 on the back of an own goal. Only one goal has been scored so far in three matches of the tournament.

As there is no option of sharing points in the final, the South Asian sides must get on the score sheet to lift the trophy. It will be the second occasion that Nepal and Bangladesh will vie within three days after they ended up 0-0 in the final group stage match of the tournament on Saturday.

Moreover, it will be the third final encounter between the two sides at the Dasharath Stadium and a virtual battle of supremacy as both the sides have shared one trophy each. The first final played between them during the inaugural edition of South Asian Games, known as South Asian Federation (SAF) Games, in 1984 ended 4-2 in favor of the home team. The next final meeting between the two sides dates back to the eighth SAG in 1999 which Nepal lost 1-0. In such a scenario, the two sides are tied 1-1 and the winner could lead the race 2-1.

Whatever the history, the attacking department has been the major concern for both sides in the current situation and coaches of both sides have come under pressure over the firepower of the teams.

"Scoring, obviously, has been our problem. But we will try our best to get on the score sheet and lift the trophy at home. We will have more advantage than Bangladesh due to the home environment," said Nepal's coach Bal Gopal Maharjan.

Bangladesh had the luxury of reshuffling the whole starting XI against the home team after they were confirmed of the final spot before Nepal fixture. Tagging Nepal as favorite to win the tournament, Bangladesh coach James Day said, "Our main ambition was to test players for three matches of World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifiers matches [in June] and we were successful in that," said the Briton who used 22 among 23 players of the squad in last two matches.

On goal drought, he said: "This is not just a problem of Nepal and Bangladesh, but the whole Asia. Both teams will obviously try to score. Hopefully we will score and keep clean sheets."

He will get an opportunity to pick his best 11 judging the current form of his entire squad members. But he however ruled out fielding the strongest side. "Our focus is still on three matches of the Qualifiers and SAFF Championship for September. We would like to make changes in the squad," said the Briton.

Bangladesh will also have an opportunity to win an international trophy after 18 years as they collected their last silverware during 2003 SAFF Championships. But Day and his captain Jamal Bhuyan both were not much bothered by the title prospect.

"It was not about winning the trophy at first. But we are in the final and we would like to win the trophy. It is great if we win but no problem even if we lose because such type of event is not [remembered] for a long time," said Day.

Captain Bhuyan said: “We have a good chance to win the trophy and we have a good squad and players. As it is a friendly tournament, it is not going to be the highest achievement. But it will be good to win the trophy."

Nepal’s last international title dates back to 2016 when they lifted the AFC Solidarity Cup in Malaysia defeating Macau in the final.

Nepal began with the same starting line-up in the first two matches but coach Maharjan has hinted at making changes in the final.

"There will be change in the starting line-up," said Maharjan, who is likely to give continuity to the same defence line-up spearheaded by Rohit Chand along with Ranjit Dhimal, Dinesh Rajbanshi and Ananta Tamang.

Though he started with debutants Tridev Gurung and Sanjog Rai in midfield in the first two matches, Maharjan is likely to start with the experienced Bishal Rai and Sunil Bal. The duo is expected to play alongside Rabi Kumar Paswan and Tej Tamang. Anjan Bista and Bharat Khawas are likely to lead the attacking department while skipper Kiran Limbu will take charge of the post.