There is still a bitter aftertaste left from Wednesday night, but Alexandre Guimaraes and the boys will be out again to get back to winning ways.
Mumbai City FC are on the road again for their second successive away game, this time making the trip down south to face Rene Meulensteen's Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kaloor in Kochi on Sunday, December 3.
After having a penalty appeal turned down amongst other decisions, Mumbai City FC surrendered a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 in the dying seconds of the game at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. A late brace from Emiliano Alfaro sunk the Islanders' bid for a second straight away victory over derby rivals FC Pune City.
Kerala Blasters will be playing their third straight home game of the season, coming off the back of two goalless draws against ATK and Jamshedpur FC. While defenders Nemanja Lakic-Pesic and Sandesh Jhingan have earned the accolades for the two clean sheets, their strong attacking line-up which boasts of CK Vineeth, Iain Hume and the formidable Dimitar Berbatov has not been able to open the goal tally for the Yellow Army.
Where to watch it:
The game will kick off at 8pm IST and will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network, Hotstar and Jio TV for all viewers in India. For our global fans, you can find your broadcaster here
. You can also follow live action on our official Twitter account - @MumbaiCityFC.
Team News:
Midfielders Leo Costa and Zakeer Mundampara are yet on the road to recovery with full back Aiborlang Khongjee the only long-term absentee for Mumbai City FC.
Wes Brown is the only notable name missing for Rene Meulensteen's Kerala Blasters.
History:
Two time runners up Kerala Blasters registered their first ever win over Mumbai City FC last season in this very fixture in Kochi with Michael Rocky' Chopra getting the solitary goal.
Mumbai City FC are yet to register a victory away from home against Kerala Blasters but lead head-to-head with 2 victories, 3 draws and a single loss in the six encounters so far.
This fixture marks a historic evening in the history of the Islanders – last season, the Kerala Blasters were on the receiving end of a drubbing when MCFC's star striker and captain Diego Forlan became the first marquee player to score a hat-trick and inspired the Islanders to a 5-0 victory at the Mumbai Football Arena.
Midfielder Jackichand Singh, who donned the Mumbai City colours last season, will turn out for the home team with two appearances already under his belt for the Kerala Blasters.
League Watch:
League leaders Bengaluru FC suffered their first defeat of the season to FC Goa at the Fatorda. In a pulsating encounter which saw Sergio Lobera's side run out 4-3 winners, courtesy a hat-trick from striker Coro, BFC's Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was sent off and substitute goalkeeper Abhra Mondal pulled up in the final minutes leaving Albert Roca with a real goalkeeping crisis at his hands.
New boys Jamshedpur FC played their first ever home game at the brand new JRD Tata Sports Complex – a 0-0 draw against defending champions ATK.
NorthEast United got their first win of the season as they beat Delhi Dynamos 2-0 thanks to goals fromMarcinho & Danilo Lopes.
The other fixtures of the week are:
Sunday, December 3
FC Pune City vs Chennaiyin FC (Pune, 5.30pm)
