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Chennaiyin FC take on Mumbai City FC at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim, in an away game in the Indian Super League on Wednesday night. It promises to be an entertaining encounter as Mumbai City are the form team in the league after three wins on the trot, while Chennaiyin FC are aiming to bounce back after a narrow defeat to Bengaluru FC last time out.
Chennaiyin FC head coach Csaba Laszlo will have to strategise and break the flow of Mumbai City’s possession-based style, as they have averaged almost 60% possession in their games so far. There is a sense of familiarity as both sides met in a friendly during pre-season, which Mumbai City FC won 1-0. The defensive resilience of the likes of Deepak Tangri, Enes Sipovic and Eli Sabia will have to be on display to deny Mumbai City’s forward men, that comprises Adam Le Fondre, Bartholomew Ogbeche and Farukh Choudhary among others with Hugo Boumous pulling the strings from midfield.
At the other end, Chennaiyin FC need to find their shooting boots, having not netted since the opening victory over Jamshedpur FC. Jakub Sylvestr missed a penalty against Kerala Blasters in a 0-0 draw, followed by a blank against Bengaluru FC despite a flurry of chances created by multiple players. Chennaiyin FC have had no qualms in creating the opportunities in front of goal, but it is the conversion and decisive moments that they have been found lacking in.
Chennaiyin FC can take inspiration from the last league encounter between both sides, that was a winner-takes-all clash in the previous season. Lucian Goian’s winner against his former club took Chennaiyin FC to the ISL 2019-20 semi-finals at Mumbai City’s expense. The reverse fixture ended 0-0 at the Marina Arena in November 2019.
Sharing his thoughts on countering Mumbai City’s recent resurgence, Laszlo in his pre-match press conference said, “We have seen their (Mumbai City’s) strengths and what they are capable of. But we are capable too, we have shown our ability and what we can do. We are quite confident of our chances of getting all three points in what will be a competitive game.”
Providing an update on Anirudh Thapa following his injury against Bengaluru FC in the previous game, Laszlo said, “I am in close contact with our medical team. Thapa is making very good progress. We will decide tomorrow (about his availability), but it looks positive. We hope to see him return to the fold soon.”
