Mumbai City club hosts Northeast United in the international league on Friday, and the islanders need to win to return to the top four after Odisha lost to FC Goa on Wednesday.
Mumbai entered the game after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Hyderabad, when a late penalty kick from Marko Stankovic deprived Jorge Costa's team of all points and left them with a share of the spoils.
Northeast's hearts were also shattered by their death in their final match, and injury-time winner Balwant Singh was sentenced to their third consecutive loss as they fell 1-0 to ATK.
Mumbai City FC v NorthEast United: Match information
Date: 31st January 2020
Kickoff: 7:30 PM IST
Live Stream: Star Sports Network and Hotstar
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena
Mumbai City FC v NorthEast United: Team news
Mumbai is not expected to make many if any, changes. Jorge Costa loves a steady line-up, and the only change will be whether Modou Sougou is fit enough to be a starting player, in which case he will replace Serge Kevyn.
For NorthEast, it just wasn't as good in Asamoah Gyan's absence, and they'll likely feel once again the worst part of not having enough offensive ammo. Andy Keogh and Simon Lundevall are still settling in a new team, a new system, and a new country, so players like Redeem Tlang and Martin Chaves really need to step up and score goals for Robert Jarni 's side.
Mumbai City FC v NorthEast United: Probable lineups
Mumbai City FC: Amrinder Singh, Sarthak Golui, Prathik Chaudhari, Mato Grgic, Subhasish Bose, Sourav Das, Rowllin Borges, Mohamed Larbi, Diego Carlos, Modou Sougou, Amine Chermiti
NorthEast United: Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, Reagan Singh, Kai Heerings, Mislav Komorski, Rakesh Pradhan, Jose David Leudo, Lalengmawia, Simon Lundevall, Redeem Tlang, Martin Chaves, Andy Keogh
Mumbai City FC v NorthEast United: ISL form guide
Mumbai City FC: D-W-L-L-W
NorthEast United: L-L-L-D-L
Mumbai City FC v NorthEast United head-to-head
The two sides have met 11 times, Mumbai has a clear advantage, with six wins over the Highlanders.
The reverse match in Guwahati saw the two teams draw 2-2, with all four goals coming in the first half. Chermiti scored a brace for Mumbai, while Northeast goals came from Panagiotis Triadis and Asamoah Gyan, both of whom are not with the club at the moment.
Mumbai City FC - 6
NorthEast United wins - 3
Draws - 2
Mumbai City FC v NorthEast United prediction
NorthEast seems devoid of ideas, and it really isn't known where they can purchase a target. On the other hand, Mumbai will look to recover after a poor performance in Hyderabad, and Sougou's return should propel them to victory.
Prediction: Mumbai City FC 2-0 NorthEast United
