Mumbai City FC, Bengaluru FC eye three points in top-four battle

Mumbai: Mumbai City FC will take on Bengaluru FC at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Friday in their quest to claim a top-four finish in the Indian Super League (ISL).

Coming on the back of back-to-back defeats against ATK and Odisha FC, Mumbai City has given themselves plenty of work to do to regain their claim for the play-offs. They are fifth on the table with 16 points and have a game in hand over fourth-placed Odisha, who has 21 points.

Bengaluru has 22 points and is placed second.

Bengaluru bounced back after their narrow defeat against ATK by claiming three points against FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC. Sunil Chhetri has scored three goals in their last two matches and a total of eight goals this season.

Midfielder Erik Paartalu is in excellent form for the Blues with two goals and four assists so far and Dimas Delgado leads the chart for the most number of passes this season. The good news is that new signing striker Deshorn Brown will be available for selection for the visitors.

When the two teams met earlier this season, it was Mumbai City that edged a five-goal thriller 3-2.

"Mumbai is a team that makes things difficult for us. They are a counter-attacking team. They pump long balls forward. You need to score first. If they score first, then they will wait and go only in counters. So, we will try and score first," Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat said.

He added: "The league situation can change very fast. ATK looked good and now they have lost two matches. Odisha has suddenly started to improve. We have six games to play and if we are in a good dynamic we can be in the playoffs. They are going to try and start on a good note for sure." IANS

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