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Mumbai City FC set the tone for Diwali with some early fireworks in their previous game as they registered their first win of the competition soundly beating their neighbours from Pune in the ‘Maha Derby’. They are back in action at home again tomorrow, this time hosting North East United FC.
Venue & Kick-Off
The D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai had a grand football christening as Mumbai’s players dazzled the crowd with their play. The fans will be there in large droves again in anticipation of another home triumph. The natural turf had a huge role to play (both Nadong Bhutia and Subhash Singh alluded to it) in the last game as it aided Mumbai’s short-passing game greatly, truly providing home advantage.
Kick-Off: October 24 – 7:00 PM (IST)
Form
NEUFC currently sit in third place, a point ahead of their hosts tomorrow. However, they have played one extra game and have registered the full complement so far with one win, one loss and one draw. After a narrow opening win against Kerala, they were beaten comfortably by Kolkata and had to come from behind to snatch a point against Goa. Also, all three of their games have so far been at home.
Mumbai have been hopelessly bad and resoundingly good in their first two matches. High on confidence after last Saturday’s game, they will be looking to get a consistent run going.
Mumbai City FC – Lost 0-3 at Atletico de Kolkata; Won 4-0 versus FC Pune City;
North East United FC – Won 1-0 versus Kerala Blasters; Lost 0-2 versus Atletico de Kolkata; Drew 1-1 versus FC Goa;
Possible Line-Ups
Mumbai City FC (4-2-3-1): Pal, Ribeiro, Friedrich, Cmovs, Costa, Didika, Letzelter, Stohanzl, Bhutia, Moritz, Subhash
It’s a normal thing to go for continuity and keep the status quo with a winning team. Why fix it if it ain’t broke, right? Not only did they win, they trounced Pune and their attacking play was a treat to watch with each of their players in sync with each other. Andre Moritz was fabulous justifying his starting spot and Manipuri striker Subhash too dazzled with his ranging forward runs. Bhutia, who came in for Captain Syed Rahim Nabi, was potent, constantly dragging defenders ragged.
However, a couple of things which could change that – like marquee player Freddie Ljungberg (who came on as a substitute against Pune) being fully fit again, like Nicolas Anleka being available for selection (having served out his ban), like captain Syed Rahim Nabi having recovered from injury.
“Ljungberg is 100 per cent fit to start. So I’ve got a problem. I’ve got an even better problem in the game as Nicolas Anelka can start. I don’t mind having such problems. All the players that came in for the previous game, did well.
I am delighted with the competition for places. Subhash played excellently up front, he worked really hard. We all saw how good Andre Moritz is. Peter Costa, the right back did a terrific job,” coach Peter Reid said to reporters on the eve of the game.
“Nabi is going to train. We’ve been nursing him, but he is fit to play. He is a very experienced and consistent player and I am delighted to have him fit,” he went on to add about his skipper.
That said, Ljungberg could well be on the bench once again for both Moritz and Jan Stohanzl (whose places he could take) were impressive. Nabi too is likely to lose out to the hugely impressive Bhutia on the right wing, unless Reid decides to put him in at left-back or right-back at the expense of Tiago Ribeiro or Peter Costa respectively. Anelka is the most likely of the three to start, but since Reid publicly admitted his appreciation for the Moritz-Subhash partnership, it will be interesting to see if he breaks it up.
North East United FC (4-4-2): Rehenesh, Gurung, Garcia, Capdevilla, Khongjee, Milan Singh, Chansa, Mtonga, Do, Koke, Boro
NEUFC will continue with an attacking mind-set as proclaimed by their coach Ricki Herbert. He is likely to persist with a 4-4-2 with Spaniard Koke in the No. 10 role behind the striker.
“Home or away, we would like to be offensive. We are not here to shut things up and be incredibly defensive. We respect a side that has scored five in its previous game, but that will not deter us from trying to play our offensive brand of football. We are injury-free as well, so that should help,” Herbert said ahead of the game.
Right-back Robin Gurung has been an impressive spark for the team so far and the presence of Joan Capdevilla on the left gives them a good presence in that department. The Zambian duo of Isaac Chansa and Kondwani Mtonga will likely don the central midfield roles and will be entrusted the job of keeping the likes of Moritz and Ljungberg quiet. Up front, young Durga Boro is likely to start and will have the support of Koke behind him.
Despite concentrating on playing an attacking style, NEUFC have only scored two goals in their three games, being quite careless and wasteful in front of goal on occasion. They will have to address that if they are to challenge Mumbai tomorrow.
Key Facts & Stats
- Mumbai’s Andre Moritz is the leading scorer in the ISL with 3 goals. He also has the most shots on goal (6), tied with Michael Chopra of Kerala and Baljit Sahni of Kolkata.
- NEUFC’s Aibor Khongjee has committed the second highest number of fouls (5).
- NEUFC have registered a staggering 33 shots in their three games, but have yet scored only twice. Only 18 of those have been on target.
- Mumbai coach Peter Reid and North East coach Ricki Herbert have faced off against each other once before – as managers of Thailand and New Zealand respectively.
Key Battles
The North-East strike force – It could be a battle between Assam and Manipur as Durga Boro and Subhash Singh could likely lead the lines for their respective teams.
Chansa/Mtonga vs Moritz/Stohanzl – Moritz will be looking to continue from where he left off against Pune. Preventing him from getting into his elements will be the hard-tackling Zambian combination. This will be a key battle.
Robin Gurung vs Nadong Bhutia – Another North-East clash, this time down the wings. The flamboyant Bhutia was one of those who constantly tormented Pune’s defence. He will go up against one of the most integral components of NEUFC in Gurung.
Prediction
This is a first away game for the North-East club after having been nestled at home so far. They have struggled to score goals; as backed up by the stats above, they have been one of the most wasteful teams so far. Koke is the only goal-scorer so far bagging both goals. Defensively, they look okay.
Mumbai are coming off a morale-boosting win and not only have players high on confidence, but also have key players returning. They’re playing at home and will look to keep the momentum going in their favour. The pitch, as before, will assist them.
The home team should win this one.
Mumbai City FC 3-1 North-East United FC
