ISL: Mumbai aim to start home-leg with win against Odisha FC

Mumbai City FC will aim to start their home leg with a win over newcomers Odisha FC when the two sides clash here on Thursday in their Indian Super League (ISL) game. Mumbai have so far played two games, in which they have won one and drawn the other - against Chennaiyin FC in Chennai on Sunday last.

Mumbai defeated Kerala Blasters 1-0 in an away game in Kochi. The hosts, who have never won the coveted ISL title, would like to add more points to their kitty by winning the game, to be played at the Andheri Sports Complex, which has been their home turf for quite some time.

The Jorge Costa-coached team will have their hopes pinned on star forward Senegalese Modou Sougou, who was their leading goal-scorer last season. If the 34-year-old Sougou fires and plays to his potential, then the Odisha defence will have a really hard time.

Costa said he was happy with the performance of his players till now. "We played two games in 72 hours and I'm very happy with all my players. I'm also happy with the four points from two matches, had it been 6 then I would have the happiest coach," Costa said.

You'll see my best playing 11 for tomorrow. We'll look to do our best and pick up the points," he added. According to Costa, he made some mistakes last year by not understanding the reality of the league, but he has learnt from them and the teams initial target was to make the top 4.

Costa said the clash against Odisha FC will not be a walk in the park as the eastern team, in its earlier avatar as Delhi Dynamos FC, had played pretty well last season and created a lot of opportunities too. "We must respect them and I know that it won't be easy tomorrow," he said.

Last season, Sougou's chemistry clicked with skipper Paulo Machado and if the duo clicks again, then the hosts could have an easy outing. However, Sougou will have to adjust with the new set of forwards which include Tunisian Amine Chermiti.

Though the head coach would not have the services of their experienced mid-fielder Arnold Issoko, he has several good mid-fielders to bank on and these include Machado, Raynier Fernandes, Diego Carlos and Mohammed Rafique. Mid-fielder Sourav Das will sit out due to an injury, it was learnt.

An area of concern for Mumbai was that they were over- dependent on Sougou last season and this time, they will look to overcome this shortcoming. Mumbai's line will be manned by Pratik Chaudhari, Subasish Bose, who are expected to give a tough time to the Odisha forwards.

It is understood that defender Mato Grgic will sit out of the game owing to an injury. Mumbai are expected to go in with Amrinder Singh as their goalkeeper and his role will be crucial for the team's chances to prevail over the opponents.

It would be interesting to see whether Singh can keep a clean slate. Despite saying that Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC had good opportunities (in previous matches against Mumbai) to score, Costa seemed content with Singh's show and was all praise for him.

On the other hand, Odisha are looking for their first win of the season as they have suffered defeat in both their games played so far. The eastern state-based team will have to block Sougou from scoring if they want to end their losing spree.

Odisha FC coach Josep Gombau conceded he has not got the desired results so far, but the team will surely make amends in the Thursday clash. We didnt get the results, but those were two good games. We had some mistakes in terms of passing accuracy.

"We made small mistakes, but controlled the game and had some chances. However, we are not deserving of not having any points on the table, Gombau said. He said Mumbai were a good outfit and had an experienced coach.

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(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)