Sergio Lobera inclined to attack, Jorge Costa rubbishes direct football assertions

Ferran Corominas has scored 21 goals in 22 matches for FC Goa in the Indian Super League.

Mumbai City take on FC Goa in the latter's first home game in this Indian Super League season. The Gaurs come into the match after a comprehensive victory over defending champions Chennaiyin FC. They were dominant against the Marina Machans, keeping the ball and creating chances with ease. The home side are yet to lose after having drawn against NorthEast United in their first match.

Mumbai City, on the other hand, have managed to turn around their disappointing results from the first two matches by winning the Maharashtra Derby against FC Pune City. Both teams will be looking to gain maximum points from this fixture and continue their winning run. The Islanders hold the edge in terms of the head-to-head record, having won three times to their opponents' two victories. This competitive fixture has also seen three draws.

Coach’s Corner

Sergio Lobera (FC Goa)

The Spaniard knows that all the teams are equally strong this time round

Sergio Lobera looked confident in his team's abilities to get all three points, despite it being 18 days since they last played a match. "We can't make any excuses about the calendar. For us, it's very simple, we have to play to the best of our abilities," the Spanish gaffer said.

Talking about the previous matches the former Las Palmas head coach added, "We are very happy with the performance in Chennai, I'm a little disappointed with the game against NorthEast because I thought we left two points behind there."

Regarding his side's first home fixture Lobera said, "We are very excited to play in front our fans. We will work extremely hard to give the fans what they want when they come to watch the match."

Speaking about his philosophy the former Barcelona C manager had this to say, "If you are asking me whether we are going to attack less so that we concede less, the answer to that will be no. We will try and attack as much as we did last year and try and defend better."

Lobera also addressed the flexibility in his squad. He said, "I think one of the virtues of the team is the adaptability. As a coach, you have to take into account the composition of the squad. The more flexibility we have in the team in multiple positions the better it is."

Jorge Costa (Mumbai City)

The Mumbai gaffer is confident that his team can get all the three points

After the win against Pune City, coach Jorge Costa was full of optimism. Talking about the opponents he said,"They have a very good team and a very good coach. We will have a difficult game tomorrow. We respect them a lot, but we also know what to do tomorrow. I hope that we can do the things I have in my mind. I am confident that we can go back home with three points."

The win against the Stallions was the Islanders' first of the season."About last game, three points very important. We scored two goals, we missed a penalty, that is not good. We had some chances to score and we must score. Of course, for me, it's important to win the game."

"We don’t play direct balls. We play long balls to the back of the defence. We try to fight. This is my philosophy. When we have players like Arnold (Issoko), (Modou) Souogu and (Rafael) Bastos, we must take from them the best things. But, this is not direct football. Long balls are not direct football," Costa continued on his philosophy and approach.

ALSO READ:

• Miguel Portugal unhappy with players' international duty, Carles Cuadrat hails team performance

• Chhetri brace helps Bengaluru ease past toothless Pune City

• Indian Player Ratings: Sunil Chhetri on song as Bengaluru hammer FC Pune City

Team News

FC Goa

Brandon Fernandes is out injured for the hosts.

Mumbai City

 The Islanders have no fitness concerns from their previous match.

Probable Lineups

FC Goa: Nawaz, Seriton, Fall, Chinglensana, Mandar, Jahouh, Lenny, Bedia, Boumous, Jackichand, Corominas.

Mumbai City: Amrinder, Souvik, Goian, Bose, Ghosh, Raynier, Sehnaj, Machado, Bastos, Issoko, Sougou.

Did You Know?

• This fixture has seen seven goals scored twice in four matches. FC Goa thrashed Mumbai City 7-0 in ISL 2, while Mumbai came out on top against the Gaurs in ISL 4, with the score being 3-4.

• FC Goa full-back Seriton Fernandes was sent off in the Gaurs' last home match against Mumbai City.

• Ferran Corominas has scored 21 goals in 22 matches for FC Goa in the Indian Super League.

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Broadcast

The match will take place tomorrow at 7:30 pm at the Fatorda Stadium in Madgaon. On television, the match will be broadcasted live on Star Sports network. Meanwhile, it will also be streamed on Hotstar and JioTV.