Mumbai City FC vs East Bengal lineups, team news, prediction and preview

Mumbai City FC will take on the Red and Gold Brigade final match of GW 19 in ISL.

Mumbai City FC will lock horns against East Bengal on Friday evening at the Mumbai Football Arena in the Indian Super League (ISL). Both teams are looking to book their position in the top six to qualify for the play-offs. Last time out it was a close fixture but a mistake on the back from Hijazi Maher helped Mumbai City FC to claim the win and get all three points away from home.

This will be the second consecutive home game for the Islanders and will look to do the double over the Red and Gold Brigade this season. On the other hand, East Bengal will be confident going into the match as defeated Kerala Blasters 2-1. This upcoming fixture will be important for both teams and surely this will be a mouthwatering clash for sure.

The Stakes

Mumbai City FC

The Islanders thrashed the Black Panthers at home by 3-0 and they will look to do the same against another team from Kolkata. Kratky will be delighted with his team’s performance last time out as they were able to play their game very well and got the desired points.

Currently, they are sitting at the fifth spot with 27 points on the board and will be looking to get even higher up in the upcoming fixtures. There are surely a lot of expectations from the Islanders and if they win against Oscar Bruzon’s men it will surely give them a lot of confidence.

East Bengal FC

After some poor performances, East Bengal got a win and it was a delightful performance against the team from the south. Injuries have created a lot of problems for the team from Kolkata and due to this, it has made the job more difficult for the coaching staff.

Individual mistakes are another reason for not getting the desired results and they will have to make sure to not repeat the same mistakes again and again. The Red and Gold Brigade will be looking to take revenge on the Islanders for sure. The dream of getting into the top six spot is still far and they will have to get consistent positive results to beat other teams in the race.

Injury and Team News

For Mumbai City FC, Akash Mishra is still not available and Manzoro is out of the season. Most probably Karelis and van Nief will be back in action against East Bengal.

Anwar Ali, Saul Crespo and Mohamed Rakip are the injury concerns for the Red and Gold Brigade for the upcoming fixture. East Bengal will also be without key player Hijazi Maher who has been ruled out for seemingly long term.

Head-to-Head

Games Played: 10

Mumbai City FC: 7

East Bengal FC: 1

Draws: 2

Predicted Lineups

Mumbai City FC (4-2-3-1):

TP Rehenesh (GK), Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Mehtab Singh, Tiri, Nathan Rodrigues, Yoell van Nieff, Jayesh Rane, Brandon Fernandes, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Nikos Karelis

East Bengal FC (4-2-3-1):

Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Nandhakumar Sekar, Hector Yuste, Mark Zo, Lalchhungnunga, Jeakson Singh, Souvik Chakrabarti, PV Vishnu, Richard Celis, David Lalhlansanga, Dimitrios Diamantakos

Players to Watch

Jon Toral (Mumbai City FC)

The Spaniard has suffered injuries throughout the season and due to that he is not able to stay fit and help the team. When he was brought in fans and the management had a lot of expectations from him as his CV is one of the best in the league.

But inconsistent performance and injuries have hampered his adaptation to the league. Still, the coaching staff trusts him a lot and fans also believe that he will help the team turn around their situation. When the Spanish maestro is on the field it is seen how he positively impacts the game and helps to break down defences easily. Surely his role will be crucial for the Islanders to be successful this season.

Richard Celis (East Bengal FC)

The Venezuelan winger is the replacement for Madih Talal and immediately he has shown his quality on the pitch. With his sharp movements and dribbling ability, he is able to take on players easily and create chances for his teammates.

The South American is a hardworking player who does his defensive duties very well. His ability to sniff out chances out of nowhere makes him even more lethal on the field. Celis with his pace is able to make more effective counter-attacks from the wings and can break defence more effectively.

Did you Know?

• The winner of the last meeting was Mumbai City FC
• The average number of goals in meetings between Mumbai City and East Bengal is 2
• When East Bengal leads 0-1 away from home, they win 37% of their matches.

Telecast

The Mumbai City FC East Bengal match will be played at the Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai on Friday (31st January 2025). The game will kick off at 07:30 PM IST.

The match will be shown live on the Sports 18 network and Star Sports 3. It will also be streamed online on Jio Cinema. International viewers can also watch the game on One Football App.

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