Mumbai City vs ATK Mohun Bagan: Preview and Prediction
The last fixture of matchday 5 of the 2022-23 Indian Super League season will see Mumbai City taking on ATK Mohun Bagan. The fixture will be played out at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday.
Mumbai City is among the only two teams to have remained unbeaten so far in this competition, with Goa being the other side. Having played four matches so far, Des Buckingham’s men have registered two wins and have drawn as many matches.
On the other hand, ATK Mohun Bagan had a horrific start to their season, losing their first match at home to Chennaiyin. However, the Mariners made a fantastic comeback by beating Kerala Blasters away and then winning the Kolkata Derby against arch-rivals East Bengal.
Current Form
Mumbai City met defending champions Hyderabad in their first fixture, where they got involved in a six-goal thriller that ended 3-3. The second match against Odisha was much more comfortable for them, as Buckingham’s team won that fixture 2-0.
Their third match, which was against Jamshedpur, once again produced a stalemate, with the scoreline being 1-1 this time around. However, the Islanders registered their second victory by handing Kerala Blasters a 2-0 defeat in their last match.
As for ATK Mohun Bagan, they threw away a one-goal lead in their first match against Chennaiyin to lose 1-2. However, Juan Ferrando’s men have hardly put a foot wrong since that defeat. The second match saw the Mariners beating Kerala Blasters 5-2 away from home.
In their last fixture, ATK Mohun Bagan faced East Bengal In the highly anticipated Kolkata Derby. While they did not look very promising in the first half, Ferrando’s side had an excellent second half and ended up winning the game 2-0.
Head to Head Record
The head-to-head records between these two teams are skewed in favour of Mumbai City. These two teams have crossed paths five times in this competition previously, of which the Islanders have won four, while the other match resulted in a draw.
That draw happens to be the last encounter between ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City. The Mariners’ former Australian striker, David Williams handed his team an early lead, but an own goal from Pritam Kotal helped Buckingham’s side clinch a point.
Team News
Buckingham is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI after what was a fine display against Kerala Blasters. The backline of Rahul Bheke, Rostyn Griffiths, Mehtab Singh and Sanjeev Stalin is expected to be stationed ahead of the team’s custodian, Phurba Lachenpa.
Apuia, Ahmed Jahouh, and Greg Stewart are usually the trio dictating play from the middle of the park while the onus of scoring goals will be on Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Bipin Singh.
Ferrando could also opt to field an unchanged starting XI, but there is room for one tweak in the ATK Mohun Bagan set-up. Deepak Tangri did not have the best of outings in the Kolkata Derby against East Bengal.
Given that the Islanders have two of the very best midfielders of ISL in Jahouh and Ralte, the Spanish tactician could field the more experienced campaigner Lenny Rodrigues from the start in this fixture. Notably, Lenny made a vital clearance after coming on as a substitute in the last game.
Predicted XIs
Mumbai City (4-3-3): Phurba Lachenpa; Rahul Bheke, Rostyn Griffiths, Mehtab Singh, Sanjeev Stalin; Apuia, Ahmed Jahouh, Greg Stewart; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Bipin Singh.
ATK Mohun Bagan (4-2-3-1): Vishal Kaith; Asish Rai, Brendan Hamill, Pritam Kotal, Subhasish Bose; Deepak Tangri, Joni Kauko; Manvir Singh, Hugo Boumous, Liston Colaco; Dimitri Petratos.
Prediction
Though Mumbai City holds the edge on the head-to-head front, it has to be said that the Mariners have played excellent football in their last two matches. Hence, we have predicted a stalemate for this fixture.