ISL 2018-19: FC Goa hope to keep momentum going against Mumbai City FC

Having registered their first victory of the season, FC Goa would look to keep the winning momentum going when they take on Mumbai City FC at home in a Hero Indian Super League match in Goa on Wednesday.

With four points from two games, the Gaurs have made a positive start to the fifth season of the tournament.

Sergio Lobera's men would have been a little disappointed to walk away with a 2-2 draw in their opening fixture against NorthEast United FC but made their intentions clear in the next game with a stunning 3-1 win away from home against defending champions Chennaiyin FC.

Mumbai City, on the other hand, come into game on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over FC Pune City in the first Maharashtra derby of the season.

Jorge Costa's men had a stuttering start to their campaign with a home defeat against Jamshedpur FC followed by a 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters.

 

SQUAD: Despite losing the services of prolific playmaker Manuel Lanzarote to ATK, Goa boasts of strong attacking line and they proved that by scoring five goals scored in two matches so far.

Last season's Golden Boot winner Ferran Corominas has shown no signs of slowing down and has already scored three goals in two appearances.

In defence, Mourtada Fall has been an excellent addition with the Senegalese adept at bringing the ball out from the back. Chinglensana Singh too has shown improvement in his defensive abilities.

Costa will be glad to see Senegalese strike Modou Sougou get off the mark against Pune. He would also be hoping for Brazilian Rafael Bastos to find his form after a lacklustre start to the campaign.

Mumbai's attack had been toothless at the start with the Brazilian struggling for any rhythm but his penalty against Pune might just get his confidence back.

Arnold Issoko has looked like an inspired buy for Mumbai with the Congolese showing his prowess in a man-of-the-match display in the Maharashtra derby.

MANAGERS SPEAK: "We always try to play an attacking brand of football and the idea is to win the game. That's the most important thing. If you're asking me if we are going to attack less so that we don't concede, the answer is no. The idea is simple which is to try and attack like we did last year," said Goa coach Lobera.

"Goa have a very good team and a very good coach. It's easy to understand what they want to do on the pitch. I will not speak of individual players but we are going to have a difficult game for sure. We respect them a lot but we also know what to do," said Costa.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: FC Goa and Mumbai City have locked horns eight times with Goa coming out on top on two occasions while Mumbai City have won thrice.

FORM: FC Goa have had a great start to life in the fifth of ISL. They have played twice and gathered five points during which they scored five goals from seven shots on target. They also boast of a fine passing accuracy of 76.65 per cent.

Mumbai registered their first win of the season against FC Pune City and now have a win, loss, and a draw from their opening three games. They have found the back of the net three times despite having 13 shots on target. 

 

PROBABLE 11: 

FC GOA: Mohammad Nawaz, Seriton Fernandes, Chinglensana Singh, Mourtada Fall, Mandar Rao Dessai, Ahmed Jahouh, Jackichand Singh, Hugo Boumous, Edu Bedia, Brandon Fernandes, Ferran Corominas

MUMBAI CITY FC: Amrinder Singh, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Lucian Goian, Subhasish Bose, Shouvik Ghosh, Arnold Issoko, Paulo Machado, Sehnaj Singh, Raynier Fernandes, Modou Sougou, Rafael Bastos