Mumbai City vs Bengaluru: Preview and Prediction
Reigning champions Mumbai City will lock horns with former champions Bengaluru in ‘Match 56’ of the 2021-22 season of the Indian Super League at the Fatorda Stadium on Monday.
Mumbai City has looked strong in their title defense so far, as they have lost only three of their ten matches. Des Buckingham’s team is currently occupying the pole position in the league standings, having accumulated 17 points.
On the other hand, Bengaluru has not been at their sharpest, winning only a couple of their ten encounters. With ten points in their account, Marco Pezzaiouli’s team is currently ninth in the table.
Current Form
The league table might portray a different picture, but the Islanders will not come into this match high on confidence as they are without a win in their last three matches. In their previous outing, Buckingham’s men were handed a 4-2 drubbing by Odisha.
The contest before that against NorthEast United ended with a 3-3 scoreline, but it certainly would have felt like a defeat for the Islanders as they enjoyed the lead for the lion’s share of the game. Their biggest defeat came a week before the match against the Highlanders, where Kerala Blasters thrashed them 3-0.
On the contrary, despite struggling in the bottom half of the table, Bengaluru has looked compact recently, having picked up five points from their last three matches.
The Blues secured a 1-1 draw against East Bengal in their last match after a 4-2 triumph against Chennaiyin. Before the Southern Derby victory, Pezzaiouli’s men were successful at restricting a formidable Jamshedpur unit to a 0-0 stalemate.
Head to Head Record
Mumbai City holds the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head records as they have won five of the nine meetings against Bengaluru. The 2018-19 ISL champions have had the last laugh on three occasions while only one game has failed to produce a winner.
The Islanders won the first meeting of this season by a 3-1 margin. Igor Angulo opened the scoring quite early in the match before Cleiton Silva restored parity. However, two second-half strikes from Mourtada Fall and Ygor Catatau helped Mumbai City seal their victory.
Team News
Vinit Rai could make his first start for Mumbai City
Buckingham’s decision to change goalkeeper for the game against East Bengal paid dividends, but it is now perhaps time to ponder a few changes to his midfield contingent.
Cassinho did not create a single chance against the Red and Golds and has now been ineffective for two consecutive matches. He could make way for the Madureira loanee Catatau, while another loanee in Vinit Rai could take up Raynier Fernandes’ place in the starting XI.
After a frustrating 1-1 stalemate against East Bengal, Pezzaiouli is expected to ditch his 4-2-3-1 set-up for the 4-3-3 formation which gave his team a 4-2 win against the Marina Machans. Congolese striker Prince Ibara was almost non-existent against the Kolkata-based team which could potentially spur the return of club captain Sunil Chhetri in Bengaluru’s starting XI.
It will also allow the former Hoffenheim manager to play an extra overseas midfielder in Iman Basafa dropping Jayesh Rane to the bench. Besides that, Pratik Chaudhari is likely to replace Parag Shrivas at the heart of the defense.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Mumbai City (4-2-3-1): Phurba Lachenpa; Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Rahul Bheke, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy; Apuia Ralte, Ahmed Jahouh; Ygor Catatou, Vinit Rai, Bipin Singh; Igor Angulo.
Mumbai City (4-3-3): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Roshan Naorem, Pratik Chaudhari, Alan Costa, Ashique Kuruniyan; Suresh Singh, Bruno Ramires, Iman Basafa; Udanta Singh, Cleiton Silva, Sunil Chhetri.
Prediction
Despite their unimpressive current run of form, Mumbai City has had a commendable campaign so far which can be comprehended from their current league position. Hence, we have predicted a 3-1 win for the Islanders.