Last Updated: November 01, 2023, 20:02 IST
ISL 2023-24: Mumbai City FC vs Punjab FC (FSDL)
Mumbai City FC tackle Punjab FC on the Mumbai Football Arena within the Indian Super League.
Mumbai City FC welcome Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 debutants Punjab FC to Mumbai Football Arena on November 2, Thursday, as the latter continues their quest of bagging their first victory of the marketing campaign. This would be the inaugural fixture between the 2 groups within the ISL as the Islanders will eye a victory after a 1-1 draw in opposition to Hyderabad FC final week. Punjab confronted a 5-1 loss to Chennaiyin FC as Staikos Vergetis and his facet put together to undertake considered one of their most difficult contests of the marketing campaign within the yard of the ISL 2022-2023 League Winner.
What’s at stake?
Mumbai City FC
The Des Buckingham-coached facet has dropped two factors from successful positions this season. But, Mumbai City FC have recorded eight comeback victories within the ISL since 2019-20, which is the second most after Odisha FC (11) in that time-frame. The Islanders had a fairly constant run the place they rolled over opponents amidst their journey of ending atop the standings final season, and they should ring in better steadiness to their performances to repeat that feat from the 2022-23 season.
Punjab FC
“We didn’t expect coming from the last season to this level that we will just keep winning like last year. But, every game, we learn something new. Some games are better, some are worse. But, we are trying to improve from each game,” Punjab FC striker Luka Majcen mentioned in an interplay forward of their earlier match. The group has endured obstacles in the beginning of their ISL journey however they should collectively work in direction of discovering their first win of the season.
Key Players
Lalengmawia Ralte (Mumbai City FC)
Apuia has been dictating the tempo of the sport from the centre of the park for Mumbai, recording an 88% passing accuracy and averaging 47 of these per sport. He has netted as soon as in 4 appearances and Buckingham will financial institution on him to assist the group create objective-scoring alternatives from the tip of the midfield.
Krishnananda Singh (Punjab FC)
Krishnananda Singh bagged a compensatory objective for Punjab FC of their final match, but it surely was an effort that made heads flip because of the sheer energy and accuracy behind the shot. The 27-yr-outdated has aggregated solely 176 minutes throughout 4 matches for the group, however he has managed to search out the again of the web from his solely shot on the right track as nicely. It shall be attention-grabbing to see whether or not Vergetis entrusts him with added accountability on this match.
Head-to-Head
This would be the first fixture between the 2 groups within the ISL.
Trivia: Apuia has the very best passing accuracy (88%) amongst all Mumbai City FC gamers within the ISL this season.
Team Talk
“They (Punjab FC) have got some good players. They have got a clear way they want to play. We need to be ready for that. To another team being added in the league, it’s great, because it gives us more games and more so for that region in particular, for the people around there, because it brings them so much closer to the sport,” Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham mentioned within the pre-match press convention.
“In football, the gap between home and away games is not as different as it was before. We enjoy the atmosphere that the fans create, but it does not affect our performance. The atmosphere is nice, and we enjoy playing football in front of fans. Of course, it’s not exactly the same as the home games, but the gap is not so big,” Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis addressed the challenges that include taking over Mumbai City FC of their dwelling floor.
