NorthEast United vs Mumbai City: Preview and Prediction

Reigning champions and current league leaders of the 2021-22 season of the Indian Super League, Mumbai City will take on NorthEast United in ‘Match 42’ at the Fatorda Stadium on Monday.

Mumbai City parted ways with their manager Sergio Lobera and a few pivotal players in the likes of Adam Le Fondre and Hugo Boumous but it has not had any effect on their supremacy as the Islanders are occupying pole position having accumulated 15 points from 7 matches.

On the other hand, NorthEast United had a terrific 2020/21 season where they reached the semi-finals but Khalid Jamil’s men have failed to replicate that form this time around. The Highlanders have gathered only 7 points from their 9 outings and are struggling at the ninth position in the league standings.

How have they done so far?

The Des Buckingham era in Mumbai City started with a 3-0 triumph over Goa but a 3-1 defeat in the second match against Hyderabad came as major stupefaction. However, they made an excellent comeback by winning four matches on the trot.

Buckingham’s men dominated ATK Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru, and Jamshedpur, while against Chennaiyin, they did enough to get over the line with a 1-0 scoreline. Mumbai’s winning streak was ended by Kerala Blasters in their previous match and the Islanders will be aiming for instant redemption.

NorthEast United had a difficult start to the season losing two of their first three matches against Bengaluru and Chennaiyin, while they could only register a 0-0 stalemate against Kerala Blasters.

Jamil’s men earned their first victory when they emerged victorious against Goa in their fourth match, but it was followed by two consecutive defeats against Odisha and Hyderabad. The Highlanders won their second match a week ago against East Bengal but once again failed to encash on the impetus and went down fighting against ATK Mohun Bagan in their last match.

Head to Head Record

Mumbai City is slightly ahead of the Highlanders when it comes to head-to-head records. They have beaten NorthEast United on seven occasions while the Guwahati-based team has got the better of the 2020/21 champions five times with two fixtures ending in stalemates.

Jamil’s team secured the three points in both meetings of last season. The first game ended with a 1-0 scoreline where Kwesi Appiah converted a penalty while the Highlanders registered a 2-1 triumph in the return leg thanks to a Deshorn Brown brace.

Team News

Mehtab Singh can replace the suspended Mourtada Fall

Despite fielding an overseas pairing of Patrick Flottmann and Hernan Santana in the heart of the defense, NorthEast United conceded 3 goals in their previous fixture against the Mariners with Provat Lakra failing to offer any resistance to the likes of Hugo Boumous and Manvir Singh.

Lakra is expected to make way for Joe Zoherliana at the right-back position while we could also see a change in the attacking trio as Rochharzela had a very quiet evening last time out and might be replaced by Laldanmawia Ralte.

Buckingham will miss his reliable central defender Mourtada Fall in this clash as he is currently serving a suspension. With Mumbai City not having another overseas central defender in their ranks, Indian youngster Mehtab Singh might have to replace Fall.

On the flip side, this change will free up an overseas slot for the New Zealand U23 manager, who could replace Vikram Pratap Singh with Ygor Catatau upfront. Barring these two obvious changes, we might also see Valpuia getting a start at the right-back position in this match after Amey Ranawade’s subpar outing against the Tuskers.

Predicted Starting Lineups

NorthEast United (4-3-3): Mirshad Michu; Joe Zoherliana, Hernan Santana, Patrick Flottmann, Gurjinder Singh; Mathias Coureur, Khassa Camara, Imran Khan; Laldanmawia Ralte, Mapuia, VP Suhair.

Mumbai City (4-2-3-1): Mohammad Nawaz; Valpuia, Mehtab Singh, Rahul Bheke, Mandar Rao Dessai; Apuia Ralte, Ahmed Jahouh, Ygor Catatau, Cassinho, Bipin Singh; Igor Angulo.

Prediction

Though both sides are coming into this match on the back of defeats, Mumbai City has a much better track record this season while head-to-head statistics are also inclined in their favor. Hence, we have predicted a 2-0 triumph for the Islanders.