ISL: Mumbai City FC vs Chennaiyin FC - What we can expect - Preview and Prediction

As the Hero Indian Super League enters its home stretch with teams jostling for a place in that elusive top four in the table, Sunday evening features a very intriguing clash between table toppers Chennaiyin FC and fourth-placed Mumbai City FC.

Chennai inflicted a resounding 5-1 beating on Mumbai when the teams faced off earlier at the ‘Marina Arena’ in Chennai, the worst loss of the tournament so far for Peter Reid and his men. That defeat could serve as motivation for Mumbai as they attempt to bring down Abhishek Bachchan’s outfit in his home city.

Venue & Kick-Off

The D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will serve as the venue for this momentous clash on Sunday evening. Mumbai have a good record here having lost only once in their six matches, winning three of them. They will hope to continue that good form tomorrow.

Kick-Off: November 23 – 7:00 PM (IST)

Form

Mumbai: L-W-L-L-W-W-D-D-D

This past Monday’s 0-0 draw with FC Goa at home marked the third straight game to end in a goalless draw for Mumbai. They had registered successive 1-0 victories prior to that to get their campaign back on track, but they’ve struggled to find the net in recent games.

Reid believes the goals will come, conceding that it’s just a matter of time, happy that his team were at least creating chances.

“If it was a dour 0-0, I wouldn’t know where to turn,” Reid said. “But we created chances, we just didn’t put them away.”

The clean sheets though (5 in a row now) will be cause for cheer though and the defenders and Reid will hope their forwards can break their goal drought.

“We can keep creating, and sooner or later, I promise you, we’ll stick it in the net”, added Reid.

Mumbai will be looking to break their goal drought and register a win

Chennai: W-W-L-W-D-D-D-D-W

Marco Materazzi’s side went top of the table with a 3-1 win at home on Wednesday to break their own successive run of draws. So they come into the game with momentum and the happy memories of their 5-1 win over Mumbai earlier in the season.

The injuries are the bigger worry for Chennai as they are likely to have a number of mainstays missing for tomorrow’s game.

Materazzi however was upbeat after their last win and believes the squad depth can help Chennai overcome the injury enforced hurdles.

“The team has enormous depth in me, Silvestre, Abhishek Das, Balwant, so we are a team and we should do well,” Materazzi said.

He also believes his team is adapting well tactically to different strategies resulting in success on the pitch. “Today we played Jeje and Balwant, but I have the freedom to change and the flexibility will be our key”, said the Italian after their last game.

It was a 5-1 win for Chennai the last time the two sides met

Possible Line-Ups

Mumbai City FC (4-2-3-1): Paul; Costa, Friedrich, Cmovs, Mondal; Letzelter, Stohanzl; Didika, Moritz, Subhash; Anelka

Brazilian playmaker Andre Moritz made a welcome return from injury for Mumbai in their last game against Goa. He was extremely influential and added much needed verve to Mumbai’s attacks.

Reid has by now settled on his first-choice team and barring any injuries or Syed Rahim Nabi being fit to play, it should be the same eleven as the one that took the field against Goa.

Chennaiyin FC (4-3-1-2): Bracigliano; Dhanachandra, Silvestre, Mendy, Khabra; Denson, Djemba-Djemba, Djordjic; Pelissari; Jeje, Balwant

Chennai’s top two goal scorers, Elano and John Stiven Mendoza, could both miss the game tomorrow after pulling up with serious injuries in the last game. Bruno Pelissari, who put in a fantastic performance after replacing Elano, is sure to get the nod to play in that no. 10 role behind the two strikers.

The pace and movement of Jeje Lalpekhlua and Mendoza have caused many headaches for opposition defences, but Balwant Singh has been huge for Chennai as well coming off the bench. He is likely to take Mendoza’s place and partner Jeje up front.

Gouramangi Singh is also a doubt at centre-back, French veteran Mikael Silvestre or Materazzi himself could return to partner Bernard Mendy.

However, considering the injury situation and Materazzi’s penchant for changing things up, don’t be surprised if he goes in with a 4-1-4-1 tomorrow and a lone striker up front.

Possible line-ups

Key Facts & Stats

• Chennai are the leading scorers in the league with 17 goals to their credit; they’ve also conceded the most (12), jointly with FC Pune City.
• The last three games for Mumbai have ended in goalless draws, two of them away and one at home.
• Incidentally, Mumbai have kept five successive clean sheets since the 1-5 loss away at Chennai.
• Chennai’s Balwant Singh is the top assister in the ISL with 3 assists to his name.
• Elano and John Stiven Mendoza (both expected to miss tomorrow’s match) have the highest number of shots on goal in the ISL with 35 and 30 respectively.

Players to Watch

Balwant Singh: The Tata Academy product has been a revelation in the ISL with his ability to get into space thanks to his off-the-ball running and pace. He has impacted almost every game he’s played for the table toppers and with Mendoza likely to sit out, Balwant will have a huge role to play.

Jan Stohanzl: The midfield powerhouse for Mumbai has been one of their best players in this inaugural season. Part of the reason that Mumbai got destroyed when they played Chennai last time around was that they got owned in the midfield department. Stohanzl will take it upon himself to make sure that does not happen again.

Marco Materazzi: Which brings us to Materazzi, whose masterstroke of putting himself in as a midfield destroyer in that game paid off handsomely. Keep your eyes on the Italian, for be it from on the pitch or from the sidelines, the Italian could have a few tricks up his sleeve again.

Nicolas Anelka: He arrived with a bang with goals in back-to-back games to get Mumbai going in the ISL, but has looked a touch off the pace in recent games. This game at home could well be the one where he gets his mojo back.

Prediction

Chennai have kept only one clean sheet while Mumbai come into the game having kept five on the trot. Plus with the injuries currently dogging the Chennai team, this could be the game where Mumbai break their three-game duck. Expect the hosts to score.

However, that said, Chennai have not scored in only one game so far and seem to somehow find a goal from different channels.

There is also their last meeting – Chennai will look to take confidence from that huge victory while Mumbai will use it as added motivation to get one back over their rivals.

This could be a very entertaining, goal-scoring thriller!

Mumbai City 3-2 Chennaiyin FC