Mumbai: Placed in the bottom half of the table without a win in the Indian Super League (ISL) second season, home side Mumbai City FC will aim to put aside the early stumble and aim for their first triumph against a confident Delhi Dynamos FC at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.
With two losses and a draw, Mumbai are currently in seventh position with just one point and will have to pull up their socks if they are to earn a win against a team who have enough momentum with three consecutive wins under their belt.
The visitors, after three wins and a loss from four matches, are in second position with nine points behind leaders FC Pune City in the standings.
It will be the second home game for Mumbai City after they lost 0-2 to Chennaiyin FC on October 16. Even after having the upper hand in terms of possession, the home side gave it away in the second half, to have the fans at the stadium not much to cheer about.
Nicolas Anelka, who has taken on the extra responsibility of being the marquee-player-cum-coach, is yet to display his skills as a coach. Being on the losing side in the past couple of games, pressure will be on the former French international to help his boys deliver against a strong Dynamos side coached by Brazilian great Roberto Carlos.
India captain Sunil Chhetri, who came back into the Mumbai squad in the previous match against Chennaiyin after serving national duty, failed to make an impact in his first outing with his new club.
First season's only hat-trick scorer Brazilian Andre Moritz has headed home for personal reasons which might hurt the side.
On the other hand, Delhi's marquee-manager-cum-player Carlos will aim to use his boys to good effect to sneak in with a win against a side low in confidence and book their place at the top of the points table.
Dynamos overall have a strong side with former Chelsea winger Florent Malouda, former Liverpool full-back John Arne Riise and Ghanaian striker Richard Gadze all in good form.
But the visitors will have to use their experience to full effect on Friday without taking the opponent lightly, who might not have fired this season but have a few match winners to turn it around for them.
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