Kerala Blasters started off the season with a 2-1 win over Atletic de Kolkata and will be keen on carrying the winning momentum at home as they face Mumbai City FC.
Mumbai City managed to make it to the semis last season before they were thumped 6-1 on aggregate by FC Goa.
However, Mumbai would want to register a win in front of an animated Kochi crowd to start the season on a fresh and positive note.
Match Details
Date- Thursday, October 23 | Kick-Off- 7:30 PM (IST) | Venue- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Kerela Blasters FC
The manager, Eelco Schattoire is expecting to have a fully fit squad, while Sahal Abdul should return to the starting lineup. Sahal came off the bench against ATK but that was mostly because he had featured for India in the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh.
Kerala could go with the same eleven that was up against ATK a few days ago. Khan is expected to keep between the sticks, while Raktip, Rodrigues, Zuiverloon and Camerio form the back four. Thounaojam could partner along with Sahal in place of Gning in central midfield. Karuthadathkuni, Cidoncha and Narzary could once again be the creative options in front. Ogbeche is expected to lead the attack, especially while keeping in mind the two goals he scored against ATK.
Mumbai City FC
Mumbai will be without centre-back, Anwar Ali who unfortunately has a heart issue and should be out for quite a while. Keeping that aside, Jorge Costa could opt for Anime Chermiti, Mohamed Larbi, Mato Grgic and Rowlin Borges to have their club debuts. Arminder Singh could be made to keep for his side. Meanwhile, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Sarthak Golui and Shubasish Bose chip in with defensive duties. Paulo Machado, Raynier Fernandes should accommodate the midfield. Whereas, Modou Sougou could lead the attack.
Predicted Lineups
Kerala Blasters FC: Bilal Khan, Mohammad Rakip, Gianni Zuiverloon, Jairo Rodriguez, Jessel Carneiro, Moustapha Gning, Sahal Abdul Samad, Sergio Cidoncha, Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, Halicharan Narzary, Bartholomew Ogbeche
Mumbai City FC: Amrinder Singh, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Sarthak Golui, Mato Grgic, Subhasish Bose, Rowllin Borges, Raynier Fernandes, Paulo Machado, Mohamed Larbi, Amine Chermiti, Modou Sougou
Key Points
Off the 10 games played between the two sides, it’s Mumbai FC who has the upper hand with three wins in contrast to Kerala’s two wins. Five games have ended on level terms,
Bartholomew Ogbeche’s brace against ATK definitely makes him one of the players to watch out for. Last season, Ogbeche was the joint second-highest scorer in the league, with 12 goals in 18 games while playing for NorthEast United.
Interestingly, Modou Sougou scored the same number of goals for Mumbai in the same number of matches as Ogbeche and would be eager to get his name on the scoresheet.
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MCFC vs KBFC Dream11 Today Match Prediction | Fantasy Team
Goalkeeper- B Khan
Defenders- M Grgic, S Golui, M Rakip, J Carneiro
Midfielders- P Machado, S Cidoncha, R Fernandes, S A Samad
Forwards- M Sougou, B Ogbeche (C)