Bengaluru FC Team News
Led by Juanan and ably supported by Albert Serran and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Bengaluru rarely afford opponents a crack at their goal. In fact, they have faced the lowest shots at home (23) in the league.
Whenever the defence has come under pressure, Gurpreet has been sensational in forming the last line of defence. He was particularly exceptional in Bengaluru’s 1-0 win over Odisha FC in the previous game, pulling off six saves.
"I think Mumbai have a few new players, but the soul of the team is the same. I trust my players and my team to do a good job. We have made it tough for teams to score against us, and we aren’t a good opponent to play against," said Cuadrat.
While their defence has been exemplary, Bengaluru have struggled in attack. Their forward line has struggled to score goals and has just seven to show for their efforts. In fact, they scored more than one goal in a game just once - in a 3-0 win over Chennaiyin FC.
Mumbai City FC Team News
Jorge Costa’s Mumbai side will bank on Amine Chermiti to trouble the Bengaluru backline. The Moroccan is focal point in attack and has scored four goals this season.
Mumbai badly need a win at this juncture, having gone on a six-game winless run after their opening match win over Kerala Blasters.
"It's true that in the last games we did not lose but we did not win. We performed enough to win the games so tomorrow we need to continue like this with quality and a little bit of luck," said Costa.
The Portuguese coach will bank on his team’s away form. They are unbeaten on their travels and six of their seven points so far have come from away games. Only FC Goa (9) and Odisha FC (8) have scored more goals away from home than the Islanders (5).
"With all respect to Bengaluru, we are speaking about the champions. We will respect Bengaluru and all the teams but we want to play with quality and do our best to win the game," he said.
Prediction:
Hosts Bengaluru FC will be the favourites when they host Mumbai City FC on Sunday. Though one of the strongest defensive units in the league the Blues will need their attacking unit to step up at the Kanteerava on Sunday if they are to comfortably walk away with a win.
Mumbai on the other hand may give the home side a run for their money and hope to secure another draw. Their record in away games will work in their favour, but it will be a tough task to breach the defending champions’ fortress.
Head-to-Head:
The Sunil Chhetri-led Bengaluru team hold the edge in the head-to-head count. The two teams have faced off a total of four times in the league. In their past four encounters, BFC have won on two occasions, while MCFC have notched up a win only once. They have played out a draw only once.
Probable Line-ups:
Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Albert Serran, Juanan, Harmanjot Khabra, Nishu Kumar, Erik Paartalu, Raphael Augusto, Dimas Delgado, Sunil Chhetri (C), Ashique Kuruniyan, Udanta Singh
Mumbai City FC: Amrinder Singh (GK), Mato Grgic, Pratik Chaudhari, Subhasish Bose, Sarthak Golui, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Rowllin Borges, Paulo Machado, Modou Sougou, Mohamed Larbi, Amine Chermiti
Match Info:
BFC will host MCFC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday at 7:30pm IST
Live on Star Sports Network
Live Streaming on Hotstar & Jio TV
Source: ISL Media