Mohammedan vs Mumbai City: Preview and Prediction

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Can Mumbai City get the better of Mohammedan?

After edging Chennaiyin at extra-time in the quarter-finals, Mumbai City would look forward to getting the better of I-League club Mohammedan in the first semi-final at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Both Mumbai City and Mohammedan topped their group in Durand Cup 2022 before getting the better of Chennaiyin and Kerala Blasters respectively in the quarter-finals. 

Lallianzuala Chhangte and Greg Stewart have shared 13 goals amongst themselves for the Islanders. The quartet of Faslu Rahman, Pritam Singh, Sheikh Faiaz, and Abiola Dauda have found the net twice apiece for the Black Panthers.

Current Form

Mohammedan started their Durand Cup 2022 campaign with a 3-1 win over Goa and built on the momentum with a 3-0 thrashing of Jamshedpur. The Black Panthers didn’t spare Indian Air Force either as they blanked them 2-0 before finishing the group stage with a 1-1 draw against Bengaluru.

Mohammedan proved to be too strong for the reserve side of Kerala Blasters as Sheikh Faiaz’s goal and Abiola Dauda‘s brace turned out to be the difference.

Mumbai City began their Durand Cup 2022 campaign with a 4-1 win over the Indian Navy. A 1-1 draw with ATK Mohun Bagan was followed by a 5-1 thrashing of Rajasthan United. However, their group stage ended on a sour note as they lost 3-4 to East Bengal.

In the semi-finals against Chennaiyin, the scoreline read 2-2 at full time as Chhangte and Stewart found the net. But, the Islanders gained the upper hand in the end as Stewart completed his hat-trick while Chhangte bagged the other with the final scoreline reading 5-3.

Head to Head Record

This will be the first ever encounter between Mumbai City and Mohammedan in a competitive tournament. 

Team News

Mumbai City will be bolstered by the return of Mourtada Fall and Rowllin Borges and the duo is likely to get a nod in the starting lineup against Mohammedan. In that case, Rostyn Griffiths and Vinit Rai will start from the bench.

Pritam Singh could take the place of Yumnam Gopi Singh on the right flank while Abhishek Halder could replace Nuruddin Davronov at the heart of the midfield. Abiola Dauda could replace Azharuddin Mallick upfront.

Predicted Starting XIs

Mumbai City (4-3-3): Phurba Lachenpa; Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Mehtab Singh, Sanjeev Stalin; Ahmed Jahouh, Rowllin Borges, Alberto Noguera; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Greg Stewart 

Mohammedan (4-4-2): Zothanmawia; Abhishek Ambekar, Ousmane N’Diaye, Shaher Shaheen, Safiul Rahman; Abhash Thapa, Abhishek Halder, Sheikh Faiaz, Pritam Singh; Marcus Joseph, Abiola Dauda

Prediction

The Mohammedan defenders need to be on their toes to stop the likes of Chhangte and Greg Stewart who are scoring goals for fun. The same goes for the Islanders’ counterparts as they need to be wary of the duo of Marcus Joseph and Abiola Dauda. The game should be an evenly contested one but we predict Mumbai City to win 3-2.

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