Jorge Costa: I don't think there's extra pressure against Bengaluru FC

The Mumbai City FC boss also revealed that he feels the match against the reigning champions will be hard for his side.

Mumbai City FC will face Bengaluru FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Friday in what will be the Islanders’ 13th league game of the season. Head coach Jorge Costa and midfielder Sourav Das interacted with the media in the pre-match press conference ahead of the match.

Das had gotten his first start of the season against Hyderabad FC in a game that Mumbai won by a margin of 2-1. Before that, he had spent a long period on the sidelines, as he suffered an injury before of the start of the campaign. He said, “I'm playing after a long time. It wasn't easy for me. I tried to give my best against Hyderabad FC. There's a lot of competition to get into the playing XI. I'm doing well to fight for my spot in the team.”

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Portuguese tactician Jorge Costa reflected on the recent consecutive defeats as he remarked, “We had some problems in the start of the season. We aren't focusing on one area against Bengaluru FC. We've to be alert and not make mistakes tomorrow. It's true that we lost the last two games, but we deserved much more than zero points against ATK.

“The game against Odisha FC was the worst game in my Mumbai City FC tenure. Tomorrow's game against Bengaluru FC will be a tough one. If we want to get into the top four, we need the three points to continue our fight. I believe in my players. I was disappointed after the game against Odisha, but we hope to do better tomorrow,”Jorge Costa added.

Costa also spoke about the team’s playoffs contention. Currently, Mumbai are in fifth spot, five points behind fourth-placed Odisha FC, but have played a match lesser than Josep Gombau’s side. Costa stated, “We're five points away from the top four. We've 18 points to fight for from the six remaining games. Pressure is a part of football and it's our job to manage it.”

Furthermore, Jorge Costa said, “It's always difficult to plan after a bad game as compared to a good game. We spoke in detail about the Odisha FC game, but together we've done good work this season. We need to be focused and keep fighting.”

Regarding the opposition, the Mumbai City boss quipped, “I don't think there's extra pressure against Bengaluru FC. It's another game against one of the best teams in the ISL.”

"Sometimes, it's easy to guess the opposition's playing XI. I don't believe Bengaluru FC will change their system for a particular match, they're working on it since two years. Bengaluru FC have individual players who can make the difference. We've to be on top mentally as well as physically and fight for the three points,” Jorge Costa concluded.

Team News

Paulo Machado has been ruled out for the rest of the season, leaving Mumbai short of experience in midfield. Otherwise, the Islanders more or less have a fit squad to prepare for the upcoming game.

Head-to-Head

Mumbai City FC and Bengaluru FC have faced each other five times so far. Both of them have won two matches each, while the other game ended in a draw.

Predicted Lineup

Amrinder, Golui, Pratik, Grgic, Subhasish, Rowllin, Raynier, Larbi, Carlos, Sougou, Chermiti.

Broadcast

The game will commence from 7:30 PM IST on Friday evening. It will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. It will also be available to stream on Hotstar and Jio TV.