Mumbai City vs Al Jazira: Preview and Prediction
The first half of the Islanders’ historic AFC Champions League group stage journey is concluded after battling once with each Group B participant. As Mumbai City FC is ready to take on the Al Jazira side twice at the same venue in King Fahd International Stadium within the span of a week.
In their previous face-off, Al Jazira edged down the challenge of Mumbai City by a narrow margin of 1-0 with the help of Ali Mabkhout’s game-defining penalty. The Blue forces from the land of India played their hearts out but at the end of the day, a handball error by substitute Mehtab Singh followed by a successful penalty conversion kept them away from match points.
Despite being on the losing side, the MCFC coach Des Buckingham was proud of his boys for showing great intent and keeping the Mumbai spirit alive. During the post-match press conference with the media, the 37-year-old British head coach lauded the relentless efforts of the Islanders. He said, “It’s only the second time an Indian team has come here. To be sitting here and be as frustrated as I am but talking about how well we played against an extremely good team, I think that shows how far we’ve come.”
Current Form
Lalengmawia is keeping the Mumbai’s Asian dream alive
It is a battle of two sides who are sitting at the bottom of Group B standings with one victory from three fixtures. Al Jazira’s first win of the 2022 ACL campaign came in their previous fixture against the same opponent after losing the first two games to the table-toppers Al-Shabab and Air Force side.
On the other hand, Mumbai City registered their first-ever triumph on the continental stage when it faced the Iraqi Air Force Club on Monday. It’s a historic run for the Maharashtrian outfit as they became the first Indian club to achieve the feat while keeping the brand of football.
The Abu Dhabi based club may have emerged victorious on the last matchday although fans are still expecting a much better approach from the men in classic black and white kits. The Emirati Spiders have scored only one goal from open play which is still far away to be called good enough according to the Asian standards.
Squad Overview
Buckingham made a couple of changes in the starting eleven of the last game which turned out to be an upgrade to the winning line. Vignesh Dakshinamurthy and Mohammad Nawaz appeared in the ACL starting lineup for the first time and had a stellar night. Right-back Amey Ranawade was removed from the ground after suffering an injury early at the clock while the circumstances are still unclear whether the local lad has regained his fitness or not.
Amey’s exclusion will force the Mumbai gaffer to make major changes in the backline as we may see Rahul Bheke deployed back on the right-back position. Al Jazira’s head coach Marcel Keizer started almost the same eleven through the first three fixtures and may not consider any changes to his approach for the upcoming games as well.
Key Players
The Gateway of India was blocked by Nawaz!
Mohammad Nawaz: Despite conceding the winning goal from the penalty spot, the 22-year-old received the Man of the Match honour in his debut ACL game. The Manipuri shot-stopper stood for his team and did not let in a single targeted shot towards his goal from an open play. Due to his ability to make super-saves with ease, his presence will be key for the Islanders in the second half of the group stage campaign.
Ali Mabkhout: All eyes were on him in their recent triumph and the star Emirati striker somehow delivered it handsomely. A calm finish from the penalty spot right before the first-half whistle kept Al Jazira in the driving seat throughout the game. His partnership with the Brazilian forward Bruno needs more backing from commander Marcel Keizer to fasten the goal-scoring flow of the Spiders.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Mumbai City FC (4-2-3-1): Mohammad Nawaz; Rahul Bheke, Mourtada Fall, Mehtab Singh, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy; Ahmed Jahouh, Lalengmawia; Bipin Singh, Bradden Inman, Lallianzuala Chhangte; Diego Mauricio
Al Jazira (4-2-3-1): Ali Khasif; Zayed Jassim, Mohammed Al Attas, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Abdulla Idrees; Thulani Serero, Abdullah Ramadan; Abdoulaye Diaby, Ali Mabkhout, Zayed Al Ameri; Bruno
Prediction
The boys in the Blues will be once again lining up on Monday to get their redemption after the narrow defeat. As they will be much aware and prepared for the forthcoming challenge of Al Jazira to get back on the triumphant track. It’s quite hard to predict the winner of this contest but the Emirati side will surely take the field with a psychological advantage over its counterparts.