Preview: Boosted Mumbai City look to ride on the wave against Al Jazira

The Islanders will be hopeful of recording a second win in AFC Champions League 2022.

Mumbai City will be revitalised and ready to extend their winning run when they take on Al Jazira in the AFC Champions League on 14th April. Des Buckingham’s side started off their campaign with a dismal 3-0 loss to Al-Shabab. However, they bounced back extremely well. Mumbai City scripted history by beating the Air Force Club 2-1 and becoming the first-ever Indian club to win a game in the competition.  

Al Jazira have conversely had a timid start to life in the AFC Champions League group stage. They lost both of their games against the Air Force club and Al-Shabab. While Marcel Keizer’s men have buckled under pressure, they will be keen to face the former Indian champions and salvage something from the meeting. 

Mumbai City Vs Al Jazira: The Stakes

Mumbai City FC

The Islanders did falter in the Indian Super League 2021/22 but they seem to have worked on their shortcomings in the two-week training camp they conducted afterward. While they began their ACL journey with a disheartening 3-0 loss to Al-Shabab that pointed out similar mistakes from their league campaign, they seem to have bounced back.

A win and a loss from their two games give them a genuine chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, if they can get a few more wins and draws.

The Islanders' second game against the Air Force Club of Iraq looked to be their hardest fixture on paper. The three successive AFC Cup-winning Iraqi side came into the game with a win against Mumbai’s next opponents, Al Jazira. Des Buckingham's side played an extremely close game than they did with Al-Shabab.

They went toe-to-toe with the experienced Iraqi outfit. Though Mumbai City fell behind early in the second half to prolific striker Hammadi Ahmed’s predatory strike, their own target man Diego Mauricio levelled the scoreline minutes later.

The striker won and converted a penalty, giving his team and manager the lucrative hope of that record-breaking win. Local boy Rahul Bheke then rose highest in the box following Ahmed Jahouh’s laser-guided corner to give the Indian side a well-deserved lead.

Mumbai spent the last 15 minutes with some dogged defending as every pass into their half was scrambled away to safety. And they finally finished with all three points in the bag.

Al Jazira

It was quite a different outing for UAE’s Al Jazira as the side currently sits at the bottom of the group with two losses from two games. The club recently lost by the same scoreline to Al-Shabab that Mumbai conceded. Before that, they had lost a close game against the Air Force Club by a 2-1 margin. However, the UAE side has plenty of potential to redeem themselves as the likes of Ali Mabkhout, Khalfan Mubarak and Abdoulay Diaby can help them do so.

Marcel Keizer’s side does look unpredictable as they hoarded the ball against their Iraqi side and had less of it against Al-Shabab. In both cases, they managed to concede two or more goals while struggling to create chances. While Mumbai City can look for loopholes with such an issue, Al-Jazira can also tighten up and try to force their way to a result. 

Mumbai City Vs Al-Jazira: Team News

Mumbai City will most probably be without the services of their top-scorer Igor Angulo in the match against Al Jazira. The Spaniard strained his calf muscle during training before their match against Al-Shabab and has not been in contention for the starting line-up ever since.

Rowlin Borges missed out on the squad as his knee injury kept him out of the competition. Brad Inman, however, made his return in the last game as he played a part in Mumbai’s victory. Des Buckingham has an otherwise match-fit roster of players and will once again look to field his strongest eleven.

Al Jazira have no injuries or suspensions to worry about, on the other hand. Marcel Keizer’s side have faced exhaustion as a primary issue in the latter stages of both games as the manager explained in his press conferences. However, they are lucky to still retain the option of being able to field a match-fit starting XI.  

Mumbai City Vs Al-Jazira: Head-to-Head

Mumbai City will be playing their third game in the AFC Champions League, but they have never gone up against Al-Jazira. For both the Islanders and the Spiders this will be their first meeting in any competition. Both clubs will be looking to get off with a win. The Islanders will want to retain their form and Al Jazira will hope to turn things around.

Mumbai City Vs Al-Jazira: Probable Line-ups

Mumbai City FC: Phurba Lachenpa (GK); Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Rahul Bheke, Mandar Rao Dessai; Ahmed Jahouh, Apuia; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Brad Inman, Bipin Singh; Diego Mauricio.

Al-Jazira: Ali Khasif (GK); Al-Attas, Al Hammadi, Zayed Sultan; Mohammaed Rabii, Thulani Serero, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Idrees; Abdoulay Diaby, Zayed Al Ameri; Ali Mabkhout.

Mumbai City Vs Al-Jazira: Players to Watch

Diego Mauricio (Mumbai City)

The Brazilian centre-forward has been in a rich vein of form for the Islanders ever since his winter transfer to the side. He scored once in the friendly against Al-Hilal United and has brought his scoring boots into the AFC Champions League as well, as he scored in the 2-1 win against the Air Force Club.

Mauricio is a penalty specialist as well and can bully defenders into very tricky positions inside the box. As a result, he often draws fouls in mouth-watering positions for his side. He has already demonstrated his importance for Des Buckingham’s men and can do so once more against Al-Jazira.

Ali Mabkhout (Al Jazira)

The seasoned UAE veteran was Al-Jazira’s top scorer with 25 goals last season.  However, he has had a tame return this time around, with six goals and five assists in 18 appearances. What’s more important is that the prolific goalscorer should not +be underestimated as he holds the record for UAE’s all-time top international goalscorer. The striker has scored a whopping 79 times in 103 appearances for the national side meaning he rarely forgets his shooting boots.

Mumbai City will have an additional task of dealing with the naturally talented centre-forward, who has drawn praise from the likes of Zinedine Zidane when Real Madrid faced the side in 2017. ‘The Prince’ is both a club and national hero as he also remains the club’s all-time top scorer.

Did You Know?

• If they win, Mumbai City can become the first-ever Indian club to win two successive games in the AFC Champions League.
• Al Jazira have made it to the knockout stages twice, in 2014 and 2018. However, the side has never made it past that stage. 
• Like Mumbai City FC, the UAE side won their league in 2021 and qualified for the AFC Champions League.

Telecast

The match will be played at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The AFC Champions League 2022 will be telecast on Star Sports 3 in India. Live streaming will also be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app & website as well as on JIO TV.

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