Mumbai City and Atletico de Kolkata come face to face in the 52nd fixture of the Hero Indian Super League at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday.
With only a couple of group matches remaining in the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League, Mumbai City's hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the competition are pretty slim.
Having suffered three successive defeats in their last three fixtures against Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos and FC Pune City, the Ranbir Kapoor-owned side is currently at the bottom of the table with 12 points from 12 games.
Even if they do manage to record wins in both their remaining fixtures against Atletico de Kolkata and NorthEast United, their chances of making a top-four finish would depend on how the other teams fare in their final fixtures.
While NorthEast United FC's chances of making a top four finish is over, FC Pune City and Kerala Blasters FC will need to secure a win in their last games to qualify for the semi-finals.
Delhi Dynamos will also probably be aiming for a win in their final fixture (to make sure they finish in fourth place ahead of FC Pune City and Kerala Blasters FC) even though a draw would guarantee them a place ahead of Mumbai City in the table due to their superior goal difference.
Despite their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals being very slim, Mumbai City boss Peter Reid insists that his side are looking to end their last home game "on a high".
"I just want the team to go out and play for the fans tomorrow. It is our last home game and we would want to end it on a high," Reid told ISL's official website.
Reid also says that Mumbai will be looking to avenge their 0-3 defeat at the hands of the Sourav Ganguly co-owned side in the reverse fixture at the Salt Lake Stadium.
"We will be competitive tomorrow, make [sic] no doubt about it. I have been personally hurting ever since they beat us. It is a prestige issue when you are playing on your home turf. We will give our best tomorrow and hopefully will come away with a positive result," he added.
Meanwhile, Kolkata have also not been in great form of late as they have only managed a single win in their last eight fixtures.
Still their chances of making it to the semi-finals of the ISL are very much on the cards as they are currently sitting in third place with 18 points from 12 games.
Although a draw against Mumbai would be sufficient to guarantee them a spot in the knockout stages of the ISL, Kolkata will be hoping for their second win over Mumbai City FC.
Kolkata team manager Rajat Ghosh Dastidar despite admitting that Mumbai City will not be pushovers on Sunday, believes that his side can obtain a positive result if they remain focused.
"Mumbai have been unfortunate in this tournament, but they have some fantastic players. Even if their top players do not play, I know some of the boys who will replace them. A team becomes more dangerous in this case, because all these boys will be raring to go and show everyone that they deserve to be out there," Dastidar told ISL's official website.
"Mumbai wouldn't want us to beat them again, so I am sure that it will be a tough game for us tomorrow. But I know that if we perform anywhere close to our fullest potential, we can obtain a positive result."
Where to Watch Live
The match is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (1.30 pm GMT, 8.30 am ET) start with live coverage in India on Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports 3, Star Gold, Asianet Movies, Suvarna Channel and Jalsha Movies. Viewers can also watch the match via free live streaming online on Starsports.com.
US viewers can live stream the action on FoxSoccer2Go, while European viewers can catch the action live on Eurosport or their online Player.
South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa audience can catch the ISL game live onSuperSport or their online option. Australia viewers can catch the match live on Fox Sports or via their live video option online. Middle East and North Africa viewers can watch the game on Bein Sports or via live streaming on Bein Sports Connect.
