The Islanders finished January on a high when they beat a depleted FC Goa side 4-3 in a thrilling encounter at the Fatorda Stadium that went down to the wire. Coming into a new month, we face ISL debutants Jamshedpur FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday, February 1st.
Tomorrow’s crucial game comes only 26 days after Alexandre Guimaraes' boys played out a pulsating 2-2 draw away at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in the first encounter of 2018 in bone-chilling conditions.
Jamshedpur FC travel to Mumbai in search for their second successive away victory after beating defending champions ATK 1-0 in Kolkata. Jamshedpur FC have had a decent start to 2018, winning on 3 occasions out of 6. Nigerian Izu Azuka, who beat Amrinder Singh twice in the reverse fixture, will be the man to watch out for along with his attacking partner, Trindade Goncalves.
Mumbai City FC will be looking to avoid a third successive home defeat as they welcome a confident Steve Coppell’s side. Striker Balwant Singh scored a late winner in Goa this past Sunday, increasing his tally to 6 goals for the season. Balwant and the rest of the Islanders’ faithful will be hopeful of an encore come Thursday.
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:
The gaffer Alexandre Guimaraes can be positive of his side’s chances tomorrow after having the full 25-member squad for his disposal.
Steve Coppell, too, announced a clean bill of health for his side barring some minor knocks, which “won’t rule anyone out”.
History:
This will be the second fixture between the two sides. Mumbai City FC made the long journey to Jamshedpur on January 5 for the first game of 2018. A brace from both Thiago Santos and JFCs Nigerian striker Izu Azuka meant both sides went back with a point each.
League Watch:
As Bengaluru FC sit on top of the table, our game kicks off what will be a crucial game week in the ISL as three out of the top four teams are in action against three teams who are in the bottom four positions of the league table.
The other fixtures of the week are:
Friday, 2nd February
FC Pune City vs Kerala Blasters FC (Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium, 8pm)
Saturday, 3rd February
ATK vs Bengaluru FC (VYBK, 8pm)
Sunday, 4th February
FC Goa vs NorthEast United FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, 8pm)
