Mumbai City play hosts to Kerala Blasters in the 19th fixture of the Hero Indian Super League at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday.
Following their convincing 5-0 win over Pune City in the Maharashtra Derby, Mumbai seem to have lost their bearings, succumbing to defeats in their last two fixtures against NorthEast United (2-0) and Chennaiyin FC (5-1).
The defeats mean that Mumbai are now at the bottom of the Hero Indian Super League, with only three points from their first four fixtures.
Although on paper Mumbai look pretty strong, with the likes of Nicholas Anelka and Freddie Ljungberg in their ranks, they have not been able to gel well and this has resulted in them recording some poor results.
Mumbai boss Peter Reid admits that his side were poor in their last two fixtures against NorthEast and Chennai.
"Our last performance was not that great. We hardly passed the ball and we were poor while defending," Reid told ISL official website.
"We did alright in our first half against NorthEast United FC, but without making any excuses, I think that the injury and red card in the second half did us in. Against Chennai, we were so poor. If you defend like that as a team, you cannot win a game."
Reid also admitted that goal difference could prove to be crucial towards the end of the campaign, and his side need to start improving theirs, if they want to book a spot in the semifinals of the competition.
"We know that goal difference can decide a semi-final spot and we have not done ourselves any favours," added the English boss.
"In the matches against Chennai and Kolkata, I felt at times that we were in the game. But poor defending along with the inability to finish off the chances that we created, hurt us badly. We will have Moritz and Anelka playing tomorrow, so I hope that we can score some goals, but more importantly, I would like a clean sheet."
The 58-year-old manager, who feels that Kerala Blasters are currently high on confidence, insists that his side need to be more compact at the back, if they want to get a positive result on Sunday.
"I hope that we can tighten up and not be leaky at the back. Kerala Blasters are coming in tomorrow, high on confidence. We will need to defend very well. As a team we should not be stretched. We need to make sure that the midfielders are also defending when we lose the ball. I also think that sometimes we stay too high up the pitch. We hope to address it tomorrow."
Meanwhile, the Blasters, who had not had the best of starts to the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League, will be hoping to continue their winning ways, following their narrow win over Pune.
Following two successive defeats against NorthEast United (1-0) and Chennayin (2-1), the Blasters did well to draw against a strong Atletico de Madrid side, before finally recording a win against Pune.
Considering Mumbai City's recent run of poor form, Kerala are expected to win this game but the Blasters player-manager David James insists that he is not taking any team for granted.
"For me, momentum is a very dangerous word. We have seen that in the Hero Indian Super League, form counts for nothing. A lot of teams have won games convincingly, only to go on and falter at the next step. I expect my squad to do well and I believe that our squad is good enough to beat any team in the ISL on its day," the former England goalkeeper told ISL's official website.
Nonetheless, James, who feels that his side have improved and are playing well of late, hopes they can continue their winning ways against Mumbai.
"I thought we played well against NorthEast United FC, even more so against Chennaiyin FC, but we got nothing from both those games. The game against Pune was a scrappy one and the win was not an ideal one.
"Having said that, it's an old cliché, a win is a win. I do hope that we pick up points more regularly now that we have our first win on the board,"
Where to Watch Live
The ISL match is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST, 9.30 am ET) start with live TV coverage in India provided by a lot of channels including Star Sports 2,Star Sports HD2,Star Sports 3, Star Gold,Asianet Movies, Suvarna Channel and Jalsha Movies. Viewers can also watch the ISL match via free live streaming online on Starsports.com.
US viewers can live stream the action on FoxSoccer2go, while Europe viewers can catch the action live on Eurosport or their online Player. Middle East and North Africa viewers can watch the game on Bein Sports or via live streaming on Bein Sports Connect.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa audience can catch the ISL match live onSuperSport or their online option. Australia viewers can catch the match live on Fox Sports 2 or via their live video option online.
