Mumbai City FC will lock horns with FC Goa in match No. 21 of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
Mumbai City FC's marquee player-cum-manager- Nicolas Anelka has restricted himself from playing in this edition of the ISL so far. He is expected to feature in their all-important clash against FC Goa on Sunday. Anelka has been suffering from an injury and if he manages to gain match fitness, then the forward line of Mumbai City FC will look pretty venomous.
The question remains whether the former Chelsea star will be able to pull Mumbai City FC up from the bottom of the points table. So far, the Ranbir Kapoor co-owned franchise has managed to win just one game and that too the victory came in their last game against Delhi Dynamos.
On the other hand, FC Goa seemed to let go of their thrashing by Chennaiyin FC. They came back from behind in their last two fixtures and are sitting at the top of the points table.
Mandar Rao Dessai, Leo Moura, Jonathan Lucca, Gregory Arnolin have all been in good shape and form. Last season's star player of Zico's men in blue, Romeo Fernandez has not looked dangerous in this season of the ISL so far and will be looking to up the ante as soon as possible.
FC Goa have a pretty strong lineup and Mumbai City FC players will have to sweat it out against Zico's men on Sunday.
"I feel satisfied to know we are doing well. At this stage last year, we had probably three or four points but now we are doing well. We want to carry on with this," FC Goa gaffer Zico told the reporters at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
"I always tell my players; it's better that you do not concede goals, but even if you concede a goal, we must have the strength to come back. In the last two games, we have made strong comebacks."
Meanwhile, the Indian captain Sunil Chhetri and I-League Champions Mohun Bagan AC's Sony Norde have shown their class in their last game. Chhetri's brace in the last encounter against Roberto Carlos and his boys powered Mumbai City FC to their first win of the ISL 2015.
Anelka would want them to be at their sublime best against FC Goa as well on Sunday. Mumbai City FC 's defense have been tested in almost all their matches they have played so far in ISL 2015. Anelka would want to make sure that their defense is not fragile against the likes of Mandar Rao Dessai, Moura, Reinaldo, Lucca and Romeo Fernandez on Sunday.
"We need to keep the momentum going. This is a very tough game we are playing with the leaders who have done good work in the first few games. We played well against Delhi Dynamos who are leaders, and now against the new leaders, we have to show the same attitude," Mumbai City FC assistant coach Oscar Bruzon said at the pre-match press conference on Sunday.
"I will maintain that our team is the strongest in the ISL and need to be back on track."
Where to Watch Live
Mumbai City FC vs FC Goa is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST, 9.30 am ET) start. These are the channels in India that will show this ISL 2015 Match 15 live -- Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3,Star Utsav, Star Gold (both Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jaya Max (Tamil),Suvarna TV (Kannada) and Jalsha Movies (Bengali). The ISL 2015 match can also be watched via live streaming online (free) in India, and over a 100 countries, on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Viewers in the UK, South East Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong, can watch Mumbai City FC vs FC Goa live on Star Gold, while audience in Canada can watch the Indian Super League 2015 game live on CBN and ATN.
Eurosport will show the Indian Super League match live in Europe and South East Asia, while the Mumbai City FC vs FC Goa match can also be live streamed on Eurosport Player. Viewers in Sub Saharan Africa can watch the ISL 2015 game live on Zuku and SuperSport.
Middle East and North Africa viewers will be able to catch the Mumbai City FC vs FC Goa action live on OSN, with the live streaming option on OSN Play.
Viewers in the US and Australia can watch the ISL 2015 match live on Fox Sports, while the online live stream option is on Foxsoccer2go and Foxtel.
