The Islanders finished 2017 on a high when they thumped a dismal Delhi Dynamos FC side 4-0 at the Mumbai Football Area. Lucian Goian opened the scoring for Mumbai City FC before Everton Santos, Thiago Santos and Balwant Singh joined the party. Alexandre Guimaraes’ boys will be looking forward to continue the same form as they prepare to face newcomers Jamshedpur FC for the first game of 2018 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
Mumbai City FC travel to Jamshedpur in search for their second successive away victory of the season. Striker Balwant Singh has been in fine form and is the highest scoring Indian in the league while captain Lucian Goian leads the charts with the highest number of successful tackles.
Jamshedpur FC will be looking to avoid a 3rd straight home defeat as they welcome The Islanders. Chennaiyin FC got the better of tomorrow’s hosts the last time around with a Jeje penalty sinking Jamshedpur FC 1-0 at home. Under Steve Coppell, debutants Jamshedpur FC have managed to keep the highest number of clean sheets, keeping the opposition at bay at 5 out of 7 occasions. On the contrary they have managed to score only twice in seven games.
Where to watch it:
The game will kick off at 8pm IST and will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network, Hotstar and Jio TV for all viewers in India. For our global fans, you can find your broadcaster here. You can also follow live action on our official Twitter account - @MumbaiCityFC.
Team News:
Sehnaj Singh will miss out after he picked up a red card against Delhi Dynamos. Leo Costa made his much awaited comeback albeit from the bench against Delhi after the Brazilian came on for the final 10 minutes. Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh missed out on the action the last time but will be in contention for a start tomorrow. Full back Aiborlang Khongjee is still on the treatment table.
For Jamshedpur FC, Anas Edathodika continues to recover from injury and is touted to miss tomorrow’s clash. Mehtab Hossain is back to fitness and will stake a claim to get back in the starting XI. Jamshedpur FC also announced the signing of former NorthEast United midfielder Wellington Priori. The Brazilian will however be ineligible to play until January 15, when the transfer window opens.
History:
This will be the first ever Hero ISL encounter between the two sides.
League Watch:
The week following our last game has seen a few managerial changes happen in the league.
Kerala Blasters’ head coach Rene Meulensteen stepped down after a string of poor results. Former Blasters’ player & coach David James returned to Kochi to take over as head coach. The scenes were similar in Guwahati as NorthEast United parted ways with Joao de Deus with goalkeeping coach Joseph Sidy taking interim charge. However, the Highlanders have made a high-profile acquisition in former Chelsea manager Avram Grant who joins NorthEast United as Technical Advisor.
This move by the Highlanders followed a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of second-placed FC Pune City with attacker Marcelinho scoring a hat-trick. The high-profile New Years’ Eve encounter between Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC saw the visitors run out 3-1 victors. BFC now occupy the third place on the table.
The new year 2018 kicked off amidst plenty of drama surrounding FC Goa who were scheduled to play in Kolkata against ATK at 8pm on January 3rd. After a series of unfortunate events, the team from Goa could only arrive in Kolkata way past 9.30pm and the game eventually was played with a 10.40pm kick off. The resulting fatigue was visible as both sides scored a goal a piece and shared the spoils on an eventful evening.
Chennaiyin FC enjoy top spot coming into 2018 and lead the pack with a single point’s advantage.
The other fixtures of the week are:
Thursday, 4th January
Kerala Blasters FC vs FC Pune City (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, 8 PM)
Saturday 6th January
NorthEast United FC vs FC Goa (Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, 8 PM)
Sunday 7th January
Chennaiyin FC vs Delhi Dynamos FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, 5.30pm)
Bengaluru FC vs ATK (Sree Kanteerava Stadium, 8pm)
