ISL 2018-19: Mumbai City vs NorthEast United: Preview and prediction
What's the story
Mumbai City will be hosting NorthEast United tomorrow for their return Indian Super League fixture.
While Mumbai are second on the table with 27 points from 15 matches, NorthEast United are fourth with 24 points from an equal number of matches.
The fixture will be an intense one since both teams have put on impressive performances throughout the season.
Here's our detailed match preview.
Mumbai City
Are Mumbai ready for the encounter tomorrow?
Mumbai will be coming off two consecutive losses at the hands of Goa and Jamshedpur and cannot lose this match if they want to retain their second spot on the league table.
Goa ended Mumbai's nine-match undefeated streak at the Mumbai Football Arena on February 1.
Mumbai's defensive lapses were exposed in their last two matches, and they'll need to improve their defense tomorrow.
NorthEast United
How are NorthEast United looking ahead of the encounter?
In their last five matches, NorthEast United have managed to win just one encounter against Chennaiyin, while drawing and losing two matches each.
They too need to find their scoring boots tomorrow to make a smooth run to the playoffs.
NorthEast have not scored many goals this season, and should improve on that for better results in this late stage of the tournament.
Key players
Who will be the key players in the match tomorrow?
Issoko and Sougou have been great in attack for Mumbai this season and could continue their great performances tomorrow.
Brazilian striker Rafael Bastos can also prove to be a serious threat to NorthEast United.
The most important trump card for Goa will surely be Nigerian striker Bartholomew Ogbeche who has been phenomenal in scoring goals this term.
Rowllin Borges has also been impressive.
TV listing
Predicted line-up and TV listing
Mumbai City: Singh, Chakrabarti, Goian, Lourenco, Bose, Issoko, Fernandes, M Singh, Machado, Sougou, Bastos.
NorthEast United: Pawan, Reagan, Gurwinder, Grgic, Keegan, Leudo, Borges, Tlang, Gallego, Mascia, Ogbeche.
The match is scheduled to kick-off from 7:30 PM and can be seen on the Star Sports network and also live-streamed on Hotstar and Jio TV.
Match prediction
How can the match turn out tomorrow?
Mumbai City and NorthEast United have both been great sides this term, and both have equal chances of winning.
Ogbeche should be in his finest form and should get goals early in the match to put Mumbai under pressure.
NorthEast should try to capitalize on Mumbai's defensive lapses.
We predict the match to go 2-2.
Fantasy XI
What should be the ideal Fantasy XI for the match?
Choose Singh as the goalkeeper while keeping a 4-3-3 formation in mind.
Chakrabarti and Reagan can be the left and right backs respectively while Goian and Gurwinder can be the center-backs for the match.
Borges, Gallejo, and Machado can be the midfielders while Ogbeche, Bastos and Sougou can be selected as forwards.