Chennaiyin FC vs Mumbai City FC - Match Preview

Chennaiyin FC will face Mumbai City FC in their 5th game of the season on Saturday,12th November at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai.

Chennaiyin FC come into this game with a 1-0 away win against Stephen Constantine's East Bengal FC.The Marina Machans have just lost once this season while winning two games and settling for a point in the other game.With the home crowd on their side,Thomas Brdaric's boys will be hoping to take all three points against the Islanders.

Mumbai City FC on the other hand, come into this game with a 2-2 draw against ATK Mohun Bagan.The Islanders are one of the two teams alongside Hyderabad FC to stay undefeated this campaign. They have managed to pick up 2 wins and 3 draws so far this season. The Islanders will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run with a positive result against the Marina Machans.

Head-to-Head:

Both these sides have faced eached other 16 times in the Hero ISL so far. Mumbai City FC have the upper hand as they have won 7 times compared to Chennaiyin FC's 6 times.The other 3 meetings have ended in a draw. The most recent meeting between the two sides came in the Durand Cup Quarter-finals where Mumbai City FC defeated Chennaiyin FC 5-3 in extra time. Greg Stewart scored a hattrick for Islanders that day whereas Lallianzuala Chhangte scored a brace against his former side.

Team News:

Chennaiyin FC will miss the services of Ghanian Striker Kwame Karikari who is injured and unavailable at the moment. Also Iranian Defender Vafa Hakhamaneshi will miss the game serving his suspension following his celebration against East Bengal. Indian Defender Narayan Das is also expexted to miss the game following his hamstring injury against East Bengal.
Thomas Brdaric added that he might play Julius Duker as the Centre Back in the absence of Vafa. He also added that Aakash Sangwan will make his full debut tomorrow in the absence of Narayan Das. Dutch midfielder Nasser El-Khayati is expexted to start the game as the fourth and final foreigner.

As far as Mumbai City FC are concerned, they will be without the services of Amey Ranawade who is set to the miss the entire ISL Season following a surgery to his knee.Other than that,there are no major injury concerns within the Mumbai City FC camp. They will have all 6 foreigners available for the upcoming game.

Probable Lineups:

Chennaiyin FC: Debjit Majumder,Aakash Sangwan,Julius Duker,Fallou Diagne,Ajith Kumar,Jiteshwor Singh,Anirudh Thapa,Rahim Ali,Nasser El-Khayati,Ninthoi,Petar Sliskovic.

Mumbai City FC: Phubra Lachenpa,Sanjeev Stalin,Rostyn Griffiths,Mehtab Singh,Rahul Bheke,Ahmed Jahouh,Apuia,Bipin Singh,Greg Stewart,Chhangte,JP Diaz.

Key Players:

Julius Duker will be the key player for the Marina Machans. Julius has been one of the best signings so far this Season. With the absence of Vafa, Duker will have to play a huge role in the defense against the likes of Diaz, Stewart and Chhangte alongside Fallou Diagne.

Greg Stewart will be the most important player for the Islanders. The midfielder has already scored 1 goal and provided 3 assists in the league. Also he was the Man of the Match the last time these two sides met each other. He will be hoping to create more chances for the forwards and to help the team take home all 3 points.