ISL 2022-23: Kerala Blasters hope to end losing streak at home vs unbeaten Mumbai City FC

By Team Newsable | First Published Oct 27, 2022, 5:50 PM IST

As the 2022-23 ISL continues, Kerala Blasters will host Mumbai City FC on Friday. While the hosts have been on a losing streak in their backyard, the visitors are coming off unbeaten.

Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) would be keen to end its two-match losing streak in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 when it hosts former champion Mumbai City FC (MCFC) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday. In its last couple of contests, the Blasters lost at home against ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) before mourning a late failure in Bhubaneswar against Odisha FC (OFC) last week. The Islanders have yet to flop in an encounter but have drawn a couple out of their three ties. KBFC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic framed earlier that his team likes to play attacking football. It has been apparent that the Blasters have had more of the ball and recorded more goal attempts than their opponents in two out of three games. However, they are also currently the team to yield the most goals, having shipped eight in three.

Vukomanovic has kept the belief in his defenders despite the beatings. The Blasters are likely to play an unchanged XI when they face MCFC. Should they think of shoring up their defence, they can drop one of their overseas strikers and include Victor Mongil in defence alongside Marko Leskovic.

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“Mumbai is always one of the biggest title contenders. They always have a clear intent of winning the game and contesting for the title. We are a team that wants to compete against the strongest teams. Tomorrow, it depends on how we start and approach the game. Last year we managed to play two good games against them, but this year it is entirely different. We want to prepare well and show our fans that we can get a good result,” spoke Vukomanovic.

MCFC had made four modifications to the side, featuring in the thrilling 3-3 draw versus Hyderabad FC (HFC) in Matchweek 1. A couple of these changes were made at the back, with Mourtada Fall and Mandar Dessai replaced by Mehtab Singh and Sanjeev Stalin. The other two transformations included Ahmed Jahouh and Alberto Noguera in the starting XI.

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Head coach Des Buckingham has owned that line-up since. His side has only conceded once in the last couple of matches, and Mehtab Singh has bagged two straight Player of the Match awards, becoming the first Indian defender to win it in the continuing season.

“We don’t focus on the runs of other teams. The most important fact is that we only have 20 games in the season, and every game is important. We know Kerala Blasters’ qualities, and we must be at the top of our game to stop that. We must continue playing like we have, not just in the last three games but also during the Durand Cup and Champions League. We are expecting a perfect game tomorrow,” said Buckingham.

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The two sides have met on 16 instances in the ISL. The Islanders have won six, while the Blasters have won four. Six meetings have ended in a draw. A couple out of the four victories for KBFC came last season when it performed the double over MCFC. At this venue, both sides have registered a success over the other, while four contests ended in a stalemate.

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