ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) will be looking to resume from where it left off in the successful outing against traditional rival SC East Bengal, when it meets holder Mumbai City FC in a second phase match of ISL-8 at Fatorda on Thursday.
The ATKMB camp is rejuvenated by the emergence of its new striker in young Kiyan Nassiri, who came in as a late substitute to score a match-defining hat-trick against East Bengal.
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The Kiyan factor gets added to ATKMB's attacking line-up that includes established names like Roy Krishna, Hugo Boumous, David Williams and Liston Colaco.
But despite having one of best attack combinations in the tournament, the last year's runner-up is struggling to realise its potential on the field. This is one problem that would be keeping coach Juan Ferrando on his toes.
ATKMB is placed fifth in the points table (19 points from 11 matches) and a win against Mumbai City would see the side returning to the top-four. The task becomes more challenging here because of the fact that ATKMB lost all the previous meetings with Mumbai City, the worst of which came in the first leg tie when the Mariners lost 1-5.
Mumbai City has not been able to retain its dominant form seeing the team remaining winless in the last six games and has slipped to seventh place in the table (18 from 12). It has games in hand like ATKMB but what is worrying for its coach Des Buckingham is the fact that the defending champion is not getting the goals.
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