Goa: ATK Mohun Bagan will face Mumbai City FC on Monday, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda in what has been tipped as the best match of this season of the Indian Super League as the top two teams come face to face on the last day of the first round.
Mumbai City has been sitting at the top of the table with 22 points from nine matches and has shown dominance in every match they have played. Players like Adam Le Fondre, Mourtada Fall, Hugo Boumous, Bipin Singh has been in a red hot form coming to this match and would be aiming to finish at the top after 10 games.
Coach Sergio Lobera has been a tactical coach, he has been a good game reader and uses his options according to the game. But there would be one area of concern as Ahmed Jahouh would be missing against ATKMB after he received a red card in their last match against Bengaluru FC.
In the pre-match press conference, Lobera said, “It’s going to be a difficult game for us. ATK Mohun Bagan are doing a very good job so far. Hopefully, everyone will see a very good game. The whole squad is fit and I am very happy with the situation. It’s an important game but it’s not a crucial game. Getting the three points is more important. This is just halfway through the season. In this league anything can change in a short period of time. The most important thing is to keep our focus.”
On the other hand, ATKMB has been the side with the best defensive record, they have collected 20 points out of their nine matches and have conceded the least no. of goals in the league this season. They have been instrumental in their defence and have played some good football throughout the campaign to date. A certain Boumous, Le Fondre would be a big test for the Mariners, as it would be the toughest test in this year’s campaign.
A certain Roy Krishna would be their target man, as he has been pulling the trigger for them since their first match. The Fijian with six goals would be a man they would be looking at.
Coach Antonio Habas has been instrumental in the 3-5-2 formation. With players like Carl McHugh, Sandesh Jhingan, Pritam Kotal and Tiri by his side, he can certainly breathe easy facing the Islander challenge.
In the pre-match press conference, Habas said, “It is very difficult to stop a team like Mumbai City because they have very good progression in the attacking play. When we get the three points, we have confidence for the next match. What is important is the performance and the behaviour [of the players] in the match.”
