Mumbai City looks to further strong playoffs record against Bengaluru
The Blues finished third in the league standings, notching 38 points from 24 games on the back of 11 victories and five draws.;
Nikos Karelis and Sunil Chhetri hold the key for Bengaluru and Mumbai
BENGALURU: Bengaluru FC will host Mumbai City FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the first single-legged knockout game of Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 playoffs on Saturday. The Blues finished third in the league standings, notching 38 points from 24 games on the back of 11 victories and five draws.
Meanwhile, the Islanders sneaked into the top-six courtesy of a 2-0 victory against Bengaluru FC on their final matchday, and will now look to book a berth in the last-four at the same venue where they had qualified for the playoffs. Bengaluru FC enters this game after losing four times in its previous five meetings against the Islanders. This is only the second fixture between these two sides in the playoffs, after the Blues had bagged a penalty shootout win in the 2022-23 semi-finals. The Islanders have been defensively resolute by not giving away a goal in any of their last four ISL matches with Bengaluru FC, netting eight times in the process. Another clean sheet would mark its longest such stretch against a single opponent in ISL, matching its record against East Bengal FC (five games between December 2020-2022). Having recorded the second-most shutouts this season (10), Petr Kratky will bank on his side’s efficient backline to keep the Bengaluru FC attack at bay.
The two sides have played 18 ISL matches against each other. Bengaluru FC has won six times, while Mumbai City FC has emerged victorious on 10 occasions. Two matches ended in draws.
Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza affirmed confidence in his side’s ability to ward off pressure and play a good game.
“It’s a completely different game. We are talking about playoffs at Kanteerava. It’s an all-or-nothing game, and believe me, we know how to play these kind of games,” he said.
Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky said that his team has worked extensively to resolve their drawbacks.
“For me, it’s a completely different competition. We are playing for the ISL Cup. We have reflected on what’s been good and bad, and worked hard to fix things too,” he said.