Mumbai: Instability at home has been one thing that has haunted Alexandre Guimaraes and his team in this season of Indian Super League. On a couple of occasions, it looked like Mumbai City FC had found the right rhythm, only to lose a home game that followed. They now face FC Pune City in the ‘Maharashtra Derby’ here at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday in dire need of three points.
In their last three matches, Mumbai has only been able to salvage one point. This run has dropped them to seventh in the points table. After a 0-1 loss at home against a resurgent Kerala Blaster FC outfit, the Islanders suffered a 1-3 defeat away against Bengaluru FC.
Guimaraes, the only coach in the league from last season, was worried with his team’s form. “The first thing you to do is win your games. In our case, we have to continue what we have been doing. Our performances in the last two games have been very good but we have to convert our chances,” he said.
“I think we have created chances but we have not been decisive in the final pass or shot. This has hurt us a lot in home games. In away games, we have been scoring off chances we produce.”
The last time these two sides met was early in the season, It was Pune that got the three points and continued their form forward as they placed second on the table.
Although Pune have almost made it to the playoffs, they have played a majority of their games without coach Ranko Popovic on the touchline. He served a four-match ban after his remarks on the referees after his team’s 2-0 win against FC Goa on December 23.
The second game after his ban was lifted, the Serb was sent off by referees over dissent. Later that night, his team suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of Kerala but recovered in their next game against NorthEast FC away from home with a 1-0 win.
Delhi host Chennaiyin
In New Delhi, bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos FC take on Chennaiyin FC with nothing but pride to play on Sunday. Delhi have seven points after 12 matches and have no chance of qualifying for the playoffs while Chennaiyin are third position with 23 points from 13 outings.
