Kerala Blasters FC look to register their first win of the 2016 Hero Indian Super League when they face an in-form Mumbai City FC side at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday. This will be Kerala’s third successive home game this season and they owe their passionate fans a win, considering they have turned out in large numbers to support them in the previous two matches. It won’t be easy though, as they face a team that is unbeaten in the league so far, having beaten FC Pune City and NorthEast United FC and drawn their encounter with Atlético de Kolkata. While Mumbai go in as favourites, it will be interesting to see how they cope with the little recovery time they have had since they played ATK only three days ago.
Head-to-head: Both teams have played four matches against each other, with three ending in a stalemate. Last season, both matches between these teams ended in a draw, 0-0 in Kochi and 1-1 in Navi Mumbai. In 2014, Mumbai registered a 1-0 win at home and then shared the points in Kochi after a goalless draw.
Form guide (last five matches):
Kerala Blasters FC: L-D-L-L-D
Mumbai City FC: L-W-W-W-D
Sandesh Jhingan vs Matias Defederico
Sandesh Jhingan was one of the main reasons behind Kerala Blasters picking up their first point of the season in their game against Delhi Dynamos FC and was rightly chosen Hero of the Match. It is not easy to contain a strong attacking front-line that Delhi have at their disposal but Jhighan kept them in check with calculated tackles and neat clearances. Kerala would need Jhingan to do a repeat of his performance to rein in Mumbai City FC, who too have brilliant attackers up front.
Three games into the season, Matias Defederico has already shown he is a special talent. His goal against ATK on Tuesday was the result of some brilliant individual skills. His match-winning strike against FC Pune City was no less impressive either. Thanks to players like him and Diego Forlan, Mumbai can now realistically look at a maiden semis appearance. The Jhingan-Defederico battle will heavily influence the outcome of the game on Friday.
Azrack Mahamat vs Sony Norde
If Azrack Mahamat’s performance against Delhi Dynamos FC in Kerala’s last outing is anything to go by, one can rest assured that the defensive midfielder from Chad will have a massive role to play for the Kochi-based outfit this year. Mahamat completed 48 passes with an impressive passing accuracy of 83%. He had 57 touches of the ball and made two successful tackles, three interceptions and won two out of his three aerial duels to help his side register their first clean sheet against a high-flying Delhi unit.
Sone Norde is back after missing the first two games as he was on national duty with Haiti. He made his first Hero ISL 2016 appearance against ATK earlier this week and hit the ground running. His speed and dribbling skills proved to be disconcerting to the opposition now and then. His vast experience in the Hero ISL is certainly going to give more power to Alexandre Guimaraes’ team. Kerala will have to keep Norde quiet if they are to register their first-ever win against Mumbai City FC.
Michael Chopra vs Lucian Goian
After playing a total of 52 minutes in the first two games, Michael Chopra gave a great account of his fitness against Delhi by playing from start to finish. In fact, he could have scored late in the first half if it weren’t for Toni Doblas’ brilliant save. Be that as it may, the former Newcastle United star looked not very far from attaining his proverbial goal-scoring form. Mumbai have every reason to worry over the 32-year-old striker, feared and respected everywhere in the world of football.
A constant at the heart of Mumbai City FC’s defence this season, Lucian Goian has been one of the main reasons behind Mumbai conceding just one goal in their three matches so far. An intelligent reader of the game, the Romanian centre-back knows how to be in the right place at the right time. He has become one of the first names in Guimaraes’ team sheet and has made four interceptions, five successful tackles, five blocks and 16 clearances for MCFC this year.
Squads:
Kerala Blasters FC: Graham Stack, Sandip Nandy, Kunal Sawant, Mohammad Ansari, Aaron Hughes, Cedric Hengbart, Sandesh Jhingan, Gurwinder Singh, Pratik Chaudhary, Elhadji Ndoye, Josu Currais, Didier Boris Kadio, Azrack Mahamat, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Ishfaq Ahmed, Vinit Rai, Michael Chopra, Antonio German, Kervens Belfort, Duckens Nazon, Mohammed Rafi, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Farukh Chaudhary, Prasanth Karuthadathkuni
Mumbai City FC: Roberto Volpato Neto, Albino Gomes, Gerson Vieira, Lucian Goian, Facundo Cardozo, Anwar Ali, Aiborlang Khongjee, Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte, Lalchhuanmawia Fanai, Munmun Timothy Lugun, Ashutosh Mehta, Krisztian Vadocz, Leo Costa, Jackichand Singh, Pronay Halder, Sehnaj Singh, Boithang Haokip, David Lalrinmuana, Rakesh Oram, Matias Defederico, Otacilio Brito Alves, Sony Norde, Diego Forlan, Gaston Sangoy
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