Mumbai City FC VS Bengaluru FC - Match Preview

High-Flying Mumbai City FC will play lackluster Bengaluru FC in their 7th game of the season at the Mumbai Football Arena. The stadium is sold out for the 2nd consecutive game as the fans are up for an entertaining battle between these two heavyweights.

Mumbai City FC come into this game with a thumping 6-2 away win against Chennaiyin FC in their last game. Also, the Islanders are one of the two sides to remain unbeaten so far this season. Speaking ahead of the game, Mumbai Head Coach Des Buckingham spoke about his team's set-piece defending."We need to focus on that. Out of the eight goals that we have conceded, six have been from set pieces. It's an area of concern" added 37-year old Englih Coach.

Bengaluru FC come into this game with a point to prove, as they are placed 9th in the league table. The Blues have lost all of their last 3 games and are winless in their last 4 games. Simon Grayson is going through a tough time after the Durand Cup triumph before the start of ISL. Also, his side have scored the joint least number of goals so far this season (2 Goals). Addressing the media ahead of the game, Grayson added " I’m working extremely hard to correct things, to turn it around and I know I won’t be far away from doing that."

Head-to-Head:

Mumbai City FC have faced Bengaluru FC 10 times in the league so far. The Islanders have a slight advantage over the Blues, as they have 5 wins compared to Bengaluru FC's 4 wins. Only one fixture between these two sides have ended in a draw. Both these sides faced each other in the recently concluded Durand Cup Finals, where Bengaluru FC were able to pick up a 1-0 victory and lift the trophy.

Team News:

Mumbai City FC will have a fully fit squad, barring the services of Amey Ranawade who is set to the miss the entire ISL Season following a surgery to his knee. Rahul Bheke who had an issue with his hamstring in the last game, is expexted to be fit for tomorrow's game.

As for Bengaluru FC, striker Sivasakthi is expexted to return to the matchday squad after missing the last game. Striker Prince Ibara is still injured and will miss the game. Other than them, Bengaluru FC will also be without Hira Mondal who is rumoured to have left the club with mutual contract termination, according to some reports.

Probable Lineups:

Mumbai City FC: Phurba Lachenpa(GK), Rahul Bheke, Mehtab Singh, Rostyn Griffiths, Vignesh, Ahmed Jahouh, Apuia, Bipin Singh, Greg Stewart, Chhangte, JP Diaz.

Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet Singh(GK), Prabir Das, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Sandesh Jhingan, Naorem Roshan, Bruno Ramires, Suresh Wangjam, Javi Hernandez, Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, Roy Krishna.

Key Players:

Greg Stewart will be the key player for the Islanders. The midfielder showed his quality once again in his last game against Chennaiyin FC. He has scored 2 goals and provided 4 assists in 6 games this season. His movement and creativity will be the key to breakdown the compact Bengaluru FC defense.


Sunil Chhetri will be the most important player for the Blues. Having scored the least number of goals in the league, Grayson will rely on none other than veteran Sunil Chhetri to fix his team's scoring woes. Also, the Indian Captain will be hoping to open his scoring account in the ISL this season and help the Blues .