AFC Champions League: All you need to know about Mumbai City FC's debut campaign

Indian Super League side Mumbai City FC will begin their AFC Champions League campaign on Friday with their opening clash against Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab SC at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. Mumbai City qualified for the tournament after winning the 202-21 ISL shield by the virtue of topping the league stages and will be the second Indian club to feature in the continental championship, that hosts the best of Asia. To give fans an idea of the competitive stature of the tournament, FC Goa, who were the first ISL side to qualify for the Champions League, exited the tournament last year without a win in six games (including three losses). This time around, Des Buckingham-led Mumbai City have been drawn into group B with UAE champions Al Jazira, AL-Shabab SC, and Iraq’s Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. The star-studded Indian club has been training in Abu Dhabi for the last two weeks before travelling to Riyadh for their Group B games. Mumbai City will play all their matches in the Saudi Arabian capital, facing each side twice over two legs. Mumbai City’s recent form The blue-clad outfit can take little positive from their recent form as they lost three of their last five competitive games, including back-to-back defeats in their last outings. The horrendous drop in form saw the defending champions fail to reach the play-off stages of ISL 2021-22 while dropping fifth on the table behind Kerala Blasters, who picked three more points. Overall, they won nine of their 20 games while losing seven of them. The side, however, will be looking to gain momentum from the two recent friendly wins which they posted against UAE Pro league leaders Al Ain FC and Saudi Arabia’s second-placed Al Hilal respectively. However, little can be read into the result against such heavyweights as little could be read into the strength of the team they faced in the friendly. Mumbai City’s AFC Champions League schedule Mumbai City FC vs Al-Shabab - April 8 (10:45 PM IST) Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya vs Mumbai City FC - April 11 (10:45 PM IST) Al-Jazira vs Mumbai City FC - April 14 (10:45 PM IST) Mumbai City FC vs Al-Jazira - April 18 (10:45 PM IST) Al-Shabab vs Mumbai City FC - April 22 (10:45 PM IST) Mumbai City FC vs Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya - April 26 (10:45 PM IST) Mumbai City FC’s AFC Champions League Live Streaming and Live TV telecast details Mumbai City FC’s AFC Champions League matches will be Live Telecast on Star Sports 3 and will be live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar and JioTV. Mumbai City FC squad for AFC Champions League Goalkeepers: Phurba Lachenpa, Mohammad Nawaz, Ravi Kumar, Vikram Lakhbir Singh Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Amey Ranawade, Mehtab Singh, Mohamad Rakip, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Mourtada Fall, Valpuia, Mandar Rao Desai Midfielders: Cassio Gabriel, Bradden Inman, Ahmed Jahouh, Raynier Fernandes, Rowlin Borges, Vinit Rai, Naorem Tndomba Singh, Chanso Horam, Asif Khan, Apuia Ralte Forwards: Vikram Partap Singh, Gurkirat Singh, Igor Angulo, Pranjal Bhumij, Bipin Singh, Diego Mauricio, Lallianzuala Chhangte Read all the Latest News ****, Trending News ****, Cricket News ****, Bollywood News ****, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook****, Twitter and Instagram****.