ISL 2022-23: Mumbai City to continue hunting for more records against Jamshedpur FC
ISL 2022-23: Matchday 17 continues on Friday as Mumbai City travels to take on Jamshedpur FC. The former remains unbeaten and would look to retain the honour, besides hunting for records against the latter.
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FollowFormer champion Mumbai City (MCFC) has a chance to set a new Indian Super League (ISL) record by going 16 matches unbeaten. It is also a couple of goals shy from having the highest league stage goals tally if it manages to keep its prolific streak intact when it takes on Jamshedpur FC (JFC) at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Friday. A win for the Islanders will take it seven points clear of second-placed defending champion Hyderabad FC (HFC), which is not playing this week. As for the Red Miners, it has a chance to become the only side to remain unbeaten versus MCFC this season.
With a tally of nine points and five contests, the primary aim for JFC will be to finish as high as possible. The Red Miners could have been level on points with East Bengal (EBFC), but it went down 3-0 against former champion Bengaluru FC (BFC) last week. Goal scoring has not been easy for Aidy Boothroyd’s men. However, last week was the first time JFC fired a blank in five matches. Over the last few weeks, the Red Miners have scored fewer than a couple of goals per match, ended its winless streak, and only picked up a few points in the process.
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Daniel Chukwu has only scored once after finding the back of the net against MCFC in the reverse fixture three months ago. The Nigerian is likely to start the game against the Islanders, but Ishan Pandita and Harry Sawyer will also be in contention.
“Jamshedpur FC, ATK [Mohun Bagan], and Hyderabad FC are the only teams to get the point against Mumbai. It’s a tough game against a well-coached team. It will be a difficult game for us. We all love football, but games don’t always go to the team that is in good form. We have a lot of respect for the opponent, but we want to try and win every game we play,” said Boothroyd.
MCFC head coach Des Buckingham has already made trips to Guwahati and Kolkata to study his previous two opponents and will likely have another strong plan for his next fixture. Buckingham’s unbeaten MCFC has operated like a well-oiled machine so far. Greg Stewart assisted Lallianzuala Chhangte’s opener in the reverse fixture. The Scotsman will be looking to add more goal contributions to his tally when he faces his former club.
“The last time we played them, we dropped two points against them at home. They are a good team playing under a good coach in Aidy. We have watched their recent games and expect a tough challenge. We are a very different team compared to when we faced them last time. We have showcased our attacking football more often. It will be a very different game compared to the last one, and we are looking forward to it,” stated Buckingham.
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Including the reverse fixture, these two sides have met 11 times in the ISL. The Red Miners have won five times, while the Islanders have won thrice. Their last meeting ended in a 1-1 draw.
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