Jorge Costa: We are trying for something good in January

The Portuguese spoke about the upcoming game against ATK and his plans for the rest of the season.

Mumbai City FC will face high-flying ATK at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday night. Ahead of this crucial encounter, the Islanders' head coach Jorge Costa and forward  Modou Sougou addressed the media in the pre-match press conference. Paulo Machado is out for rest of the season due to an injury and Costa believes it is impossible to replace him. However, he is confident that his team will be able to beat ATK to earn three points. Jorge Costa said, "As you know we have lost Paulo for the rest of the season. So, my job is to find a solution, knowing that it is impossible to replace a player like Paulo. There is no one like him in my team, but I have 25 players and I trust all of them." [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] "Last game was good for us, we didn’t have Paulo and Rowllin Borges, but we won the match. From the beginning, I trust all my players. Now, it's up to me to find the better solution, knowing that Paulo will not play. But, it's okay, I have a team and we must play as a team. We can beat all the opponents." Sougou also looked confident before the big clash and said that they are ready to face ATK. He remarked, "I think it's going to be a difficult game for them and for us too, because two very good teams are playing against each other tomorrow. " "I think now we are in another part of the season and both the teams need points. Our problem was to start to win and that’s what we did. Now, we are ready for the big game tomorrow." Sougou had scored 12 goals last season, but failed to replicate his performance in the first half of this campaign, as he has scored only two goals so far. On his own form he said, "Team is always more important than an individual and for us also one player is not important. We are a very good team because we are like a family. Last season was very good for me and this season I started badly because I wasn’t physically fit. But, now I am fully fit and I feel very good." [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] "I am enjoying my football. Now, we have one difficult game tomorrow and we are ready to give our best to keep ourselves in the top four. It is the first time this season we are in that level and we want to stay in that place until the end of the season." Jorge Costa was quizzed about their strategy against ATK. He responded, "As you know this is not the first time that we are playing against them, so it is true that it’s different. They have a different system and it's also true that not all the time they play with three at the back, sometimes they play with four." "So, we must be prepared for both situations and we are prepared. If you remember the first game in Kolkata, I think we played a wonderful game and we should have won that game. Yes, we are ready. We are not sure that they will play with three at the back, if they play with three at the back we know what to do. If the play with four we know what to do." Jorge Costa was then asked about the players he wants to sign and release in the current winter transfer window. Costa remarked, "It's always difficult in this period of the season, but we will not close the doors. We are trying to see if something good can happen for us. It's not easy in December to find solutions. If we have the money to buy someone, which will be not easy, but it will be okay for us." "We don’t have that many to buy. We the management are doing our best to see if we can have someone that can bring something extra to the team. I am happy with this team. I will not spend the money of the club just to replace one player." [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="RELATED NEWS | ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Head-to-Head

Both the teams shared the spoils after a 2-2 draw earlier this season. However, Mumbai have the upper hand with two wins to ATK's one and the other four have ended in draws.

Teams  News

Machado is out for the rest of the season while Sarhak Golui will not play against ATK due to suspension. He received a red card in the previous match against Hyderabad FC.

Predicted Lineup

Amrinder, Souvik,  Pratik, Grgic, Subhasish, Larbi, Sourav, Raynier, Sougou, Chermiti, Carlos.

Broadcast

This Indian Super League fixture will be telecast on the Star Sports Network from 7:20 PM IST on Friday. It can also be streamed on Hotstar and Jio TV.