Mumbai City vs. Jamshedpur: Mumbai City and Jamshedpur square off in the Indian Super League’s matchday 18 finale on Friday at 7:30 PM IST at the JRD TATA Sports Complex. Both teams enter the game with different goals in mind since Mumbai City needs to beat Odisha and take the top slot to increase their chances of winning the title again. The importance of these three points for Mumbai City could be well known to Petr Kratky, who took over the team in early December after Des Buckingham left.
The plan for Jamshedpur will be to maintain pressure on the final playoff berth. With 20 points, the Red Miners are presently ranked seventh in the league. They are only one point behind Bengaluru, who have recently shown some improvement.
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Head coach Khalid Jamil will be optimistic about pulling off an upset, though, since his squad has only dropped one game since the league’s resumption and has taken advantage of 11 of the 18 available points. Under his leadership, youngsters like Mohammed Sanan and Nikhil Barla have excelled, and it is to be hoped that they continue to do well against the current champions.
Present Form
Jamshedpur’s first league loss of the season was a 0-3 loss on the road against Mohun Bagan Super Giant heading into this matchup. While Vishal Kaith was behind bars repeatedly denying Imran Khan and Daniel Chima Chukwu, Dimitrios Petratos, Jason Cummings, and Armando Sadiku all reached the back of the net.
It was not just their first league defeat under Jamil, but also their first league game in which they were unable to score.
Mumbai City, on the other side, is fresh off an exciting 3-2 victory over Punjab on the road in their most recent match. After Lallianzuala Chhangte scored in the first half, it was winter acquisition Iker Guarrotxena who sealed the victory for the Islanders with a brace in the second half. With the victory, the Islanders also guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
They are now the second-highest goal scorer in the league with 29 goals, having scored 11 goals overall so far this year.
Records
Interestingly, Mumbai City and Jamshedpur have faced each other 13 times so far with the Red Miners coming out on top 6 times while the Islanders have 4 wins under their belt. The remaining 3 fixtures ended in draws.
The two sides last faced each other on 4th February this year, as Jamshedpur ran out 3-2 winners in the Mumbai Football Arena. Tiri headed the ball in from a corner routine to give the hosts the lead in the 14th minute.
When Chhangte crossed the ball for Alberto Noguera in the 32nd minute, the Spaniard scored, giving the Islanders a two-goal lead. Jamil benefited greatly from the team talk at halftime, as Imran Khan scored a goal to tie the score for the visitors in the 55th minute.
Jamil’s team won a spectacular match in Mumbai thanks to Jeremy Manzorro’s brace, which included the game-winning penalty kick in the 87th minute. The Indian head coach will be keen to keep his unbeaten record against the Islanders intact on Friday night in Jamshedpur.
Team News
Jitendra Singh, a defender for Jamshedpur, is eligible to be selected after serving his ban for receiving four yellow cards. Jeremy Manzorro, Nikhil Barla, Provat Lakra, Alen Stevanovic, and Seiminlen Doungel all have three yellow cards between them, and if they receive any more, they risk suspension.
Jayesh Rane will not play for Mumbai City since he needs to finish his suspension. Both Apuia and Vikram Partap Singh should be cautious of themselves because they have three yellow cards between them.
It’s unclear if Iker will be able to play in this match after taking a hit against Punjab. Therefore, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, a forward with six league goals this season, may be seen.
Estimated Initial XIs
Jamshedpur (4-4-2): Javier Siverio, Daniel Chima Chukwu; Mohammed Sanan, Elsinho, Jeremy Manzorro, Imran Khan; Provat Lakra, Pratik Chaudhari, PC Laldinpuia, and Muhammad Uvais.
Mumbai City (4-3-2-1): Apuia, Alberto Noguera, Yoell van Nieff, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Partap Singh, Phurba Lachenpa, Rahul Bheke, Mehtab Singh, Thaer Krouma, and Akash Mishra.
Conclusion
Mumbai City is undoubtedly the favorite going into the match, but Jamil’s influence on Jamshedpur in a short amount of time cannot be understated. Under the lights in Jamshedpur, one can anticipate a fiercely contested match, but given the upset the home club made in the previous meeting, it would be folly to write them off.
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