The Islanders came out on top earlier this week in a top-of-the-table humdinger against ATK Mohun Bagan with Bartholomew Ogbeche’s stunning goal in the 69th minute capping off a dominating performance and extending Mumbai City’s lead to five points at the top of the table.
Manolo Marquez’s Hyderabad FC are coming into this fixture after an eight-day break from the action. After ending 2020 with three consecutive losses, the Nizams have turned their fortunes around in the new year with two wins on the trot and scoring eight goals in the two games against Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United.
The Islanders saw out the reverse fixture with a comfortable 2-0 win on an evening when Vignesh grabbed the headlines for a Puskas-worthy goal but Sergio Lobera is cautious of it being a ‘completely different game’ this time around.
Team News:
Ahmed Jahouh returns from suspension for the Islanders and Sergio Lobera has confirmed that the entire squad is fit and available for selection.
Hyderbad FC’s new Dutch recruit Roland Alberg may feature according to head coach Marquez. The trio of Nikhil Poojary, Fran Sandaza and Souvik Chakrabarti will miss out on the proceedings.
Who Said What:
Sergio Lobera: The most important thing for us is to stick to our style of play, to try to keep the possession of the ball because they are a team who are comfortable with the ball too. Keeping the possession of the ball will be very important tomorrow.
Bartholomew Ogbeche: The most exciting part is that we have a lot of room for improvement. We are aware of it, we always talk about it. It's been great so far, but we hope to make it even better from now on till the end of the season.
Where to watch it
The game will kick off at 7.30pm IST and will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network, Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV for all viewers in India. For our global fans, you can find your local broadcaster here or follow all the action LIVE on our official Twitter account - @MumbaiCityFC.
League Watch
Results:
13 Jan: Odisha FC 1-2 Chennaiyin FC (Mauricio 64’; Isma 15’, 21’ P)
14 Jan: FC Goa 3-0 Jamshedpur FC (Ortiz19’, 52’, Gonzalez 89’)
15 Jan: SC East Bengal 1-1 Kerala Blasters (Murray 64’; Neville 90’)
Fixtures coming up:
16 Jan: Mumbai City vs Hyderabad FC (GMC Bambolim; 7.30pm)
17 Jan: FC Goa vs ATK Mohun Bagan (Fatorda, 7.30pm)
13 Jan: Chennaiyin FC vs SC East Bengal (GMC Bambolim, 7.30pm)
