FC Goa will continue its fight for pole position on the Indian Super League table when it hosts Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday.
The home side heads into the fixture on the back of three successive wins. A recent change in coaching staff including head coach with Clifford Miranda replacing Sergio Lobera, has not made a negative impact on the side's on-field performance, as seen in the 4-1 thrashing of Hyderabad FC last week.
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With 33 points to its name, Goa has four more points than third-placed Bengaluru FC but is level with ATK, which currently tops the ISL 2019-20 table owing to a superior goal difference. Given Goa's head-to-head disadvantage against ATK, Goa cannot afford to drop any more points in its final two league stage matches.
"Two teams with two different motivations to play. It will be an intense match. There will be no margin for error. It will be a difficult game for both teams," FC Goa interim coach Clifford Miranda said.
Miranda added the focus is to win two games and see how the others fare: "We have to win two games. Then we will see what happens. Our focus is on winning. I think the team which is best positioned to finish on top is ATK. So, the pressure is on them and not on us.”
Mumbai is on a four-match undefeated streak and its most recent outing was a 2-1 win against Jamshedpur FC. The visiting side, though, has a difficult end to the season with a clash against top-four rival Chennaiyin FC coming up, and a win against Goa is imperative. Mumbai is currently fourth on the table with 26 points but Chennaiyin, which is on 22 points, has a game in hand.
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"It will be an open game. They don't know how to play defensive football. Especially, because of the quality they have. They will be fighting to finish first. We will play for a top-four spot. Both of us have pressure to deliver. I hope the fans will enjoy the game and we get the three points," said Mumbai boss Jorge Costa.
Mumbai City has missed Paulo Machado's services, who has been out due to injury, and has struggled to find success in front of goal. New signing Amine Chermiti has scored six goals, while last season's top scorer Modou Sougou has three goals to his name. The side's defence has been a cause of concern, it has conceded the most goals among the top-four teams (23), which leaves it vulnerable to Goa's movement and precision in the final third.
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