A high-profile encounter between two Indian Super League elite forces ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC is up next in the 2022 Durand Cup. The Islanders will be taking on the Mariners from the city of joy at their fortress in Match No. 4 of Group B. The historic Salt Lake Stadium will be the host of this raging battle of Eastern and Western flag-bearers of Indian football.
After dominating the country’s top-flight league and announcing themselves to the continental stage, the Sky Blues are now aiming toward Asia’s oldest existing tournament. Des Buckingham and the boys had a great start to their debut Durand Cup fixture and are now looking forward to sustaining further the same momentum. It is going to be an action-packed saga as both of them have fielded a full-fledged roster for this competition.
Before their merger with ATK, Mohun Bagan finished as the runners-up of the 2019 Durand Cup and is going to participate for the first time since then. The presence of the Mariners adds more prestige to this edition and raises the bars of the competition by fielding their first team to the cup fixtures. They have been drafted in a group of death where the likes of Mumbai City, Rajasthan United, and the arch-rivals East Bengal are also sweating out to make it through.
TEAM NEWS
Mumbai City FC – It is being speculated that Des Buckingham will be doing rotations with his Starting Eleven to offer enough game time to his entire roster. Hence we may get to see some of the benched players from the previous fixture making it to the eleven, especially Lallianzuala Chhangte who scored a brace in his cameo substitute appearance. It’s a need of the hour for Mohammad Nawaz to impress his coach in order to regain his first-choice goalkeeper status.
ATK Mohun Bagan – Juan Ferrando’s eleven against Rajasthan United had a mix of youth and experienced names lining up together. The star signings Florentin Pogba and Ashique Kuruniyan wore the Green and Maroon kits of ATK Mohun Bagan for the first time. Another new signing, goalkeeper Vishal Kaith can make his debut against Mumbai by replacing Arsh Anwer Shaikh.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Total Matches Played – 5
Mumbai City FC Wins – 4
ATK Mohun Bagan Wins – 0
Matches Ended in a Draw – 1
Since the grand merger of ATK and Mohun Bagan, the newly founded entity has quarreled with Mumbai City five times in the Indian top-flight league. The Mariners are yet to register their first win against the Maharashtrian outfit as the current head-to-head count stands as 4-0 in favor of the sky blue. The two combatants also found themselves against each other in the Grand Finale of the 2020-21 season where MCFC graced the champions podium and fueled the rivalry.
The most recent chapter of this rivalry was the only instance where ATKMB was able to force their counterparts into dropping match points. It was the Match No. 80 of the previous season which took place at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium of Fatorda and ended on a 1-1 settlement at full-time. Where David Williams’ 9th-minute goal brought Mariners on the driving seat while the lead was quickly demolished by an own-goal of ATKMB center-back Pritam Kotal.
Mumbai’s last five visits to the Salt Lake Stadium resulted in one win, one draw, and three losses. The last time Islanders emerged victorious at this venue was back in the 2015 ISL campaign where they defeated the home side ATK on a 3-2 final scoreline. Meanwhile, the recent Rajasthan United fixture was ATKMB’s first major domestic game at their designated home turf.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
IFTWC’s MATCH PREDICTIONS
The Group B game of Matchday 9 in Kolkata presents the mouth-watering prospect of two top squads of Indian football, ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC, coming face to face on the hallowed turf. There will be names like Liston Colaco, Vikram Pratap Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, Bipin Singh, Manvir Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Kiyan Nassiri, Rahul Bheke, Ashish Rai, Apuia, etc all on either side representing the who’s who of Indian football. There will also be top foreign footballers plying their trade in India like Ahmed Jahouh, Hugo Boumous, Greg Stewart, Florentin Pogba, Joni Kauko, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, and others. And as the icing, there is the prospect of a boisterous home crowd already smarting from a first-game defeat in the tournament.
If ATK Mohun Bagan loses, which they have done four times in their five previous meetings with their Wednesday opponents having drawn the fifth one, even a win over their arch-rivals Emami East Bengal in their next outing, might not help them cross the line. Juan Ferrando’s men therefore will be under immense pressure against Mumbai City FC. So it’s a must-win game for the Mariners in order to keep their knockout round hopes alive hence there’s no second thought that they’ll be leaving no stone unturned to claim three match points.
However, the task to defeat this Mumbai City FC side is much more difficult, especially after their flawless outcome in the opening fixture against the Indian Navy team. As per the current form and every other aspect, the Islanders are currently standing with higher chances of triumphing in this contest but the Mariners with the home advantage and the hunger to bounce back from the last match’s defeat against Rajasthan United FC will make them the favorites to win the game.
IFTWC predicts a 2-1 win for the Mariners against the Islanders.
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