Hoping to extend their winning run to six games, Mumbai City FC travels to the south of the country to face a reviving outfit in Chennaiyin FC.
The Marina Machans played out a commendable 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters whereas Mumbai City FC brushed aside the challenge from East Bengal by a 3-0 win.
CFC vs MCFC Match Details
Date: Saturday, 24 December 2022
Time: 17:30 (IST)
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai
MCFC vs CFC Match Preview
With a 3-0 thrashing of East Bengal in their last match, Mumbai City FC have now accumulated an impressive 24 points from the first half of the ISL season. The Islanders are yet to lose a battle this campaign and are not taking their foot off the pedal anytime soon. Midfielder Apuia’s brace and Greg Stewart adding the cherry on the cake in the win over the Red and Gold took their scoring tally to a staggering 30 goals after 10 games. At least 15 more than the next joint best scorers, Hyderabad FC and Kerala Blasters. It is with the Nizams they are competing in a two-horse chase for the ISL Winners Shield. With the holders claiming the top place on the table again with a big win over Bengaluru FC, Mumbai City FC needs to maintain their job of producing results to keep up the pressure. They face Chennaiyin FC in the last game of the year with the same winning intention in their mind. Now entering into the second half of the season, the Islanders cannot imagine falling off like the previous campaign with a more talented squad and a flamboyant attacking prowess in their arsenal. Even though they kept only four clean sheets so far, Mumbai City FC’s defense have been sound and should not wither with the growing pressure. Playing a favorable opposition at home whom Des Buckingham’s side flooded with goals in the recent meeting should not halt their winning run. Mumbai City FC looks head and shoulders above others in the league and will be the makers of their own downfall if anything goes wrong from here.
After three losses out of four in November, Chennaiyin FC have started this month on a better note with a 7-3 goal fest win over NorthEast United and sharing the spoils against Kerala Blasters in the last match. A Vincy Baretto goal in the 48th minute to cancel out a first-half strike from Sahal Abdul Samad in the Southern derby. However, the Marina Machans could have taken more out of the game having a better xG (1.06) than their rivals (0.52) and dominating possession. The outstanding attacking strength showed against the Highlanders was missing. The draw did narrow their gap with the top six to five points yet the inconsistency remains an issue for the team. Thomas Bradaric knows Chennaiyin FC are struggling to hit the right balance this season. Their start to the second half of the campaign is grueling with unbeaten Mumbai City to face at Mumbai Football Arena. Chennaiyin FC have picked up three wins and only one loss in four away matches but this trip is possibly the toughest one. Against the present top-six teams, Bradaric’s side have only four points to their name in five games. They lost heavily the last two encounters against Mumbai City FC in all competitions with a 5-3 thrashing in the Durand Cup quarterfinals while a 6-2 loss in the reverse ISL fixture last month. Added to that, their goal-scoring midfielder Abdenasser El Khayati will be absent with an injury for this clash. He has scored seven goals and made four assists in seven matches. It leaves a big void on creativity for Chennaiyin FC badly needed against a side like Mumbai City.
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CFC: DWLLW
MCFC: WWWWW
MCFC vs CFC Predicted Lineups
CFC: Debjit Majumder; Ajith Kumar, Fallou Diagne, Vafa Hakhamaneshi, Aakash Sangwan; Julius Duker, Anirudh Thapa, Edwin Vanspaul; Prasanth K, Petar Sliskovic, Vincy Barretto.
MCFC: Phurba Lachenpa; Rahul Bheke, Rostyn Griffiths, Mehtab Singh, Mandar Rao Dessai; Apuia, Ahmed Jahouh, Greg Stewart; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Bipin Singh
CFC vs MCFC Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Lachenpa (7.5)
DEF: Mehtab (8), Griffiths (8.5), Diagne (7.5), Sangwan (8)
MID: Chhangte (8.5), Duker (8.5), Bipin (9)
FW: Stewart (9), Diaz (8), Sliskovic (9)
Vice-captain: Jorge Pereyra Diaz
Captain: Greg Stewart
Stay tuned to Fantasy Football for upcoming matches.
