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The West Coast Derby returns in the Indian Super League (ISL) with FC Goa facing Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena (MFA) on Wednesday.
The game holds immense significance for the Gaurs, who have now been dealt three losses in a row after a run of 12 unbeaten games in the league. Hurt by injuries to key players like Victor Rodriguez and Sandesh Jhingan, FC Goa has worn a disoriented look lately, letting a two-goal lead slip away to concede four strikes in the second half against Kerala Blasters FC in Matchweek 16. Having slipped to fifth in the table, the Gaurs now have 28 points from 15 matches, four behind the top-placed Odisha FC (32), who have played an additional game (16) as well. Their remarkably strong start to the season has ensured that they aren't significantly far off from the coveted first place despite the recent setbacks. Against them is a Mumbai City FC unit that has kept three consecutive clean sheets since their 3-2 loss to Jamshedpur FC earlier this month. They have scored five goals in the process, which includes two late strikes in the previous match against Chennaiyin FC, securing them three points from a fairly challenging away encounter. Mumbai City FC boasts of a formidable recent record against FC Goa, remaining unbeaten in their last nine clashes against them. They have won five of these games and drawn four times. In fact, the last time Mumbai City FC lost to FC Goa in the ISL was over four years ago, in February 2020, by a 5-2 margin! By all means, Petr Kratky & Co. will be eager to extend this run to 10 matches after the forthcoming fixture. The Islanders have notched nine goals in their previous four home games, demonstrating some good goal-scoring form in their backyard. Besides their losing streak of three matches, the Gaurs have also failed to find the back of the net in their previous two games. The last time they went on a longer streak without scoring a goal was of four games from December 2015 to October 2016. However, that shouldn't take anything away from the tremendous talent they displayed early on. In fact, their tally of 28 points from 15 games is the highest points they have accumulated since winning 30 of them in the same number of games in the 2019-20 season. "We are very happy with the entire squad. The players who come in, they make an impact and the young players blend well with the experienced stars too," Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky appreciated the contributions of his players amidst their current run of impressive form as quoted by ISL. "If we win tomorrow (on Wednesday), we are second with one game less than the first-placed Odisha FC. How is the mood? Of course, it's always better when you win rather than when you lose, isnt' it?" FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez mentioned in the pre-match press conference. (ANI)
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