Mumbai City vs Chennaiyin: Preview and Prediction
After topping their group in Durand Cup 2022, Mumbai City will lock horns with another ISL club Chennaiyin for a berth in the semi-finals. The match will take place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday.
Mumbai City topped Group B, with two wins and one draw from four matches. The solitary loss came against East Bengal as the Islanders scored 13 goals, the most by any team in group stages. However, they will also be livid with the fact that they let in seven goals as well, the joint most amongst all teams in group stages who qualified for the knockouts.
Chennaiyin, on the other hand, came second best in Group C behind Hyderabad. Playing their matches in Manipur, the Marina Machans got the better of local sides NEROCA and TRAU to make their way into the semi-finals.
Current Form
Mumbai City started their 2022 Durand Cup campaign on a blistering note with a 4-1 win over the Indian Navy. Vikram Pratap Singh and Greg Stewart scored a goal each while Lallianzuala Chhangte made the most of the tired legs to score a brace in the dying embers of the game.
They followed it with a 1-1 draw against ATK Mohun Bagan as Jorge Pereyra Diaz scored the equalizer. A 5-1 demolition of Rajasthan United took them back to the top of the table as they had five different goalscorers this time. However, they let their guard down against East Bengal and succumbed to a 3-4 loss to the Kolkata giants as Stewart’s goal and Chhangte’s brace went in vain.
Chennaiyin started their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Army Red as Julius Duker and Edwin Vanspaul found their names on the scoresheet in the extra time of the second half. Anirudh Thapa’s lone goal acted as a consolation as the Marina Machans lost 1-3 to Hyderabad in their next encounter.
Many would have counted off Chennaiyin at that stage but they bounced back in style by beating TRAU 4-1. Petar Sliskovic bagged a brace while Kwame Karikari and Vafa Hakhamaneshi were the other goalscorers in that match. Thapa and Hakhamaneshi once again found the net for Chennaiyin in their 2-0 victory.
Head to Head Record
Chennaiyin and Mumbai City have squared off against each other a total of 16 times with the former winning six games while the latter getting the nod ahead on seven occasions. Three matches between the two sides ended in a draw.
Team News
Akash Sangwan can make his place into the line-up in place of Ninthoinganba Meetei in the midfield after his impressive performances off the bench. Jockson Das could also replace Rahim Ali upfront.
Des Buckingham would like to bring in some changes after Mumbai City’s 4-3 loss against East Bengal. Amey Ranawade and Vignesh Dakshinamurthy could end up replacing Gursimrat Singh Gill and Sanjeev Stalin. Mehtab Singh may also be brought in place of Vinit Rai.
Predicted Starting XIs
Chennaiyin (4-4-2): Debjit Majumder; Narayan Das, Fallou Diagne, Vafa Hakhamaneshi, V Ajith Kumar; Sajal Bag, Julius Duker, Anirudh Thapa, Akash Sangwan; Jockson Das, Petar Sliskovic
Mumbai City (4-4-2): Mohammed Nawaz; Amey Ranawade, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Mehtab Singh, Mandar Rao Dessai; Ahmed Jahouh, Alberto Noguera, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jorge Pereyra Diaz; Bipin Singh, Greg Stewart
Prediction
Mumbai City should mean business in the knockout stages of Durand Cup 2022 and would not let themselves loose. They must have learned from the mistakes against East Bengal and would be wary of Chennaiyin’s threat. The Marina Machans have come back strongly against I-League sides NEROCA and TRAU but their lack of composure against Hyderabad showed they still have a long way to go. We predict a 3-1 win for Mumbai City.