The Blues are unbeaten in their three games so far, collecting all nine points possible and sitting at the top of the points table. Contrastingly, the Islanders are still chasing their first win of the campaign, having drawn and lost once each in their two games so far.
Mumbai City FC’s goal-scoring streak at home
· The Islanders are often a force to reckon in their backyard, having netted in each of their last eight matches at home. If they score against Bengaluru FC, Mumbai City FC will equal their longest such run in the league (nine games from October 2022-February 2023).
Interestingly, they have notched over two strikes and won each of their last three encounters against Bengaluru FC.
Bengaluru FC – Strong starters
· Bengaluru FC have scored 33.33% of their goals in the ISL in 2024 in the opening 15 minutes of the games.
This is the highest such rate for any team in the league in the aforementioned time period, showing that the Islanders’ backline will have to be on their toes right from kick-off.
Since the beginning of the calendar year, Mumbai City FC have netted only 8.8% of goals in the first 15 minutes of the matches.
“Conceding goals from set-pieces is unacceptable”
Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky is working towards fixing his team’s backline to avoid conceding strikes from set-pieces. He has stressed upon getting down to the core of the issue and resolving it for a better outcome against the Blues.
“We need to get better in the area where it’s hurting us. And we have to stop it as soon as possible because, in two games, we conceded five goals and four goals from set-pieces, which is unacceptable for me,” Kratky said.
He added, “We have to keep working and keep going. We need to analyse, and identify what’s (going) wrong and have to find why. The ‘why’ is very important. If we know why we’re conceding, why we’re losing, or why we’re not getting the points, then we can figure out what to fix. So, this is our and my first goal.”
“It will be difficult in Mumbai”
Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza is pleased with their solid start to the campaign. However, the tactician is aware that other teams will begin catching up as the season progresses, so the Blues can’t afford to go off-guard.
“Let me enjoy. Three games, three wins, and we are happy. But it’s too early. These people (Mohun Bagan SG) will win a lot of matches; Mumbai City FC will be there, and Odisha FC will be there,” Zaragoza said.
He added, “We are going to Mumbai, and it will be difficult there.”
Head-to-Head
The two teams have played 16 matches in the ISL. Mumbai City FC have won eight times, whereas Bengaluru FC have emerged victorious seven times, with one match resulting in a draw.
Key Players & Milestones
· Sunil Chhetri has scored nine goals against Mumbai City FC in the ISL. One more strike will make him the first Indian to net 10 times against a single opponent in the competition.
· Mumbai City FC’s Noufal PN recorded six touches inside Jamshedpur FC’s box after coming on as a substitute in their last match. Only Chhetri has recorded a higher tally in an ISL game since the start of 2024 among Indian players.
· Bengaluru FC’s Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has overtaken Amrinder Singh (46) to become the goalkeeper to keep the highest number of clean sheets (47) in the ISL.
ISL Fantasy
Rahul Bheke (5.1cr)
The defender has bagged 32 fantasy points this season
Tiri (5.6cr)
The Spaniard has earned 17 fantasy points in ISL 2024-25.
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Regards,
