ISL 2022-23: Mumbai City to pick up League Winners Shield at home after hosting East Bengal
ISL 2022-23: Matchday 21 concludes on Sunday, with Mumbai City hosting East Bengal. The former would also receive the League Winners Shield after the game, as it is set to finish the season atop the table.
FollowFormer champion Mumbai City (MCFC) will play its final 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) fixture of the league stage at home versus East Bengal (EBFC) at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday. The Islanders will be presented with the ISL League Winners Shield after the tie - their second - in front of their adherents. The team broke many records this season before sealing the top spot with a triumph versus FC Goa (FCG) a couple of weeks ago. Following the end of its league campaign, it will return to the venue to feature in the opening leg of the semi-finals 14 days after.
Aiming for an unbeaten finish to the league stage, MCFC was handed its maiden loss in its last encounter in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The Islanders were a couple of goals down till the 77th minute when Mourtada Fall pulled one back. However, the Blues held on to the thin lead and finally handed MCFC its opening defeat of the season.
The league leader had to make an eleventh-hour change in the previous contest after Greg Stewart rolled his ankle during warm-ups. He headed straight into the stands as Alberto Noguera substituted him. Stewart has had ongoing injury concerns, meaning he is rested for this tie, with a possibility for the league leader to test its bench strength ahead of the playoffs.
“I am looking forward to this game. It is an opportunity for us to try and finish the season strong. We will look back at the last ten months to see what we as a club have achieved. The way we performed won the title. It is a wonderful achievement for everyone. But now, we look forward to the game against East Bengal, and then, we will start preparing for a tough playoff semi-final,” said head coach Des Buckingham.
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EBFC is not in the playoff race but will endeavour to hold onto the ninth spot in the Jamshedpur FC (JFC) crosshairs, three points after the Torch Bearers. Last weekend, after picking up points in a couple of back-to-back meetings for the first time this season, EBFC went down to former record two-time champion Chennaiyin FC (CFC).
The Torchbearers have scored four goals in their previous three ISL encounters but fired a blank in the last match. Cleiton Silva is the league’s leading goalscorer, having netted 12 goals in 18 contests. With his new strike partner Jake Jervis, the Brazilian will have to be at the top of his game to score EBFC’s first-ever ISL goal versus MCFC.
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“They [MCFC] won the league a week ago, and I am pretty sure they did not want to lose against Bengaluru FC. I expect them to play hard and be professional, a trademark of the team and their coach. I expect a tough game because they will need a good result to remain sharp for the playoff semi-final,” said Constantine. The two teams have met on five instances in the ISL. MCFC has prevailed on four occasions, and a contest ended in a draw.
