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Mumbai City FC will look to bounce back from the recent reversals in the inaugural Indian Super League when they take on Kerala Blasters FC in their fifth league encounter at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
The team, owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and Chartered Accountant Bimal Parekh, are seeking their second victory in the league after losing their last two encounters against North East United FC and Chennaiyin FC.
The newly laid surface is conducive to the free-flowing brand of football that coach Peter Reid has been propagating so far with the defence maintaining a high-line in all their previous four matches.
The team proved that they are the one to beat when in full flow during their 5-0 mauling of FC Pune City on this very ground and the players are also looking for an encore when they face Kerala Blasters, who will be playing their fifth away game on the trot.
Mumbai City FC Coach Reid on Saturday said, "It was just poor defending (against Chennaiyin FC) and we need to improve. Pavel (Cmovs) is back from suspension and I believe that will make us more solid in the middle."
"(Nicolas) Anelka has got a game under his belt and Andre (Moritz) is now 100 per cent after a bout of illness. So I hope that we will be a lot stronger tomorrow," he added.
Reid and his staff would also be happy with the return of skipper Syed Rahim Nabi to the line-up and availability of French international Nicolas Anelka, both of whom played the full 90 minutes in their last encounter in Chennai.
The score-line, notwithstanding, both Anelka and Nabi showed glimpses of their class and could run riots over the Kerala Blasters' defence if the team gets into its own rhythm.
The one area of concern for Mumbai City FC throughout the early stages of the tournament has been the inability of the defence to track back when the opposition responds on the counter and it would be interesting to see what changes Peter Reid makes to the starting XI to tackle the same against a side that would be high on confidence after winning their first league encounter only a couple of day's ago against FC Pune City.
The Kerala Blasters were quick when on the attack against FC Pune City and the defence would have to ensure that custodian Subrata Pal isn't exposed to one-on-one situations against the opposition strikers.
Reid hinted as much when he insisted that Pal was an exceptional goalkeeper and it was the job of the team to defend well in front of him so that they do not concede "cheap goals."
