ISL 2019-20: Mumbai City FC aim for better defensive play against struggling NorthEast United

The race for the Indian Super League (ISL) playoffs has finally gathered momentum and is well and truly alive, with most top teams still in contention. On Friday, Jorge Costa’s fifth-placed Mumbai City FC host a struggling NorthEast United outfit at the Mumbai Football Arena as they look to consolidate their stake for the play-offs.

A win would take the Islanders to the fourth spot at least for now with 23 points, but with the race for all four playoff spots likely to go down to the final league match-day, nothing remains certain.

Amrinder Singh remains Mumbai’s vital defensive cog in an otherwise worrisome backline, having kept three clean sheets all season along with 36 saves. With Souvik Chakrabarti’s departure to Hyderabad FC and Pratik Chaudhari’s suspension, the hosts will have a lot of defensive questions to answer.

The Islanders seem to have found a young prodigy in Himingthanmawia in defence, but it all would depend on how the 19-year-old would get along with Subhashish Bose and Sarthak Golui.

Meanwhile, Costa supported Souvik’s decision to move to another club.

“It was a difficult decision for us. Souvik is a very good professional. I was working with him for one-and-a-half years. I think it was good for him to go to another club to try to be happy,” he said at the pre-match press conference on Thursday.

With Paulo Machado out for the rest of the season, it will be up to Rowlin Borges to step up in the midfield section along with fellow midfielder Mohammed Larbi and striker Amine Chermiti. Borges may have only scored one goal and created an assist, but he provides that extra creative spark in midfield which they currently lack.

However, Costa, when quizzed if he would tweak his playing system, simply said that although he may change the style of play and a few players, he would not consider changing the system.

Same as Mumbai, defensive worries remain for the visitors who are yet to keep a clean sheet since November. After giving away just three goals in the initial four matches of the season, 14 of the 17 goals the Highlanders have come after their hard-fought 2-2 draw against Mumbai City in Guwahati in November. To top it, they have scored just nine goals so far, the least in the league.

It is no surprise that NorthEast United, looking for their first win since November, and star striker Asamoah Gyan’s forced withdrawal from the rest of the season due to injury has only made matters worse for the Highlanders.

Gyan has netted four times since his ISL debut against Bengaluru FC back in October, and his absence will be a blow. However, that might be a blessing in disguise for the club’s new recruit, Ireland’s Andy Koegh. The 33-year-old’s immense experience in England, including stints with clubs like Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City could come in handy.