ISL 2018-19: Mumbai City FC look to bounce back against Kerala Blasters FC

In their earlier matches, Mumbai City suffered a 0-2 loss to Jamshedpur FC in their opening game, while Kerala Blasters registered a convincing 2-0 win over ATK

Kerala Blasters FC will on Friday host Mumbai City FC in their first home game of the season at Kochi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. They will look to keep up the momentum, having won their opening game 2-0 against ATK.

In their first game of the season, Kerala Blasters strikers Slavisa Stojanovic and Matej Poplatnik were both among goals. The prospects in today's match will be much tougher for Mumbai, which suffered a 0-2 loss against Jamshedpur at home, with both Mario Arques and Pablo Morgado finding the back of the nets despite missing their star men in Subrata Paul and Tim Cahill.

MANAGERS SPEAK

Kerala Blasters manager David James said his players had been training well and were raring to go.

"We have got so many players who have been training and have put themselves in a position to be selected. For any manager, the difficulty is a fully fit squad with everyone ready to go. The two guys who scored (against ATK) did well. Watching the videos, we created a lot of chances in the game from a lot of different players," James said.

Besides the goals, Kerala maintained a clean slate with Serbian defender Nemanja Lakic-Pesic receiving generous praise from the coach.

"I am not sure Lakic Pesic stepped in because Anas was absent. He is one of those who deserved the right to start. As a coach, the best thing is to have is everybody playing well," James said .

Mumbai City coach Jorge Costa will look to change some personnel as many didn't live up to expectations in the team's first game.

"I am not happy with the result (against Jamshedpur). Our first half was nothing special. Second half we created a lot of chances to score. In the last five minutes, it was a horrible. In the end, we lost the game and lost three points. I am here to try to win the three points," said Costa.

Mumbai City have played just one game so far but coach Costa admitted they are under pressure to open their account.

"It is true that tomorrow, we have this pressure to get some points. Because Kerala play at home and after their last game, they will have pressure (to win again)," he said.

SQUADS

Sehnaj Singh is expected to be fit for the tie while Milan Singh could also possibly make an appearance against his former team. However, Mumbai City will be without Davinder Singh and Anwar Ali.

For Kerala Blasters, youngster Dheeraj Singh is likely to again start between the sticks after his fine performance in the opening game. Sandesh Jhingan, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic and Lalruatthara would man the defence. In midfield, Nikola Krcmarevic and Sahal Abdul Samad will be responsible for orchestrating proceedings and feeding the likes of Matej Poplatnik and Slavisla Stojanovic upfront.

FORM THIS SEASON

Kerala Blasters: In the only match they have played, Kerala scord two goals while registering eight shots on target. The team boasts passing accuracy of 72.59 per cent.

Mumbai City FC: Mumbai couldn't find the back of the net against Jamshedpur despite taking three shots on target. The team's passing accuracy isn't too flattering either with a mere 64.6 per cent accuracy.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The two teams have faced each other eight times with either teams winning two games each and four others ending in draws.

Mumbai City, though, are yet to win an ISL match in Kochi, with three draws and a defeat in the last four games. The Islanders will be keen to bounce back after suffering a defeat in their own backyard against Jamshedpur FC.

PROBABLE XI

Kerala Blasters: Dheeraj Singh, Mohamad Rakip, Sandesh Jhingan, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic, Lalruatthara, Nikola Krcmarevic, Seiminlen Doungel, Sahal Abdul Samad, Halicharan Narzary, Slavisla Stojanovic, Matej Poplatnik

Mumbai City: Amrinder Singh, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Lucian Goian, Marko Klisura, Subhasish Bose, Sanju Pradhan, Paulo Machado, Mohammed Rafique, Bipin Singh, Modou Sougou, Rafael Bastos