ISL 2020-21: NorthEast United FC vs Mumbai City FC Prediction, preview, team news and more
Indian Super League (ISL) goes into its second Match Day with heavyweights Mumbai City FC visiting the 'home' side NorthEast United FC at the Tilak Maidan in Goa on Saturday.
NorthEast United FC will be banking on the likes of Luis Machado, Kwesi Appiah and Benjamin Lambot on the pitch to win them points in the first fixture. Wayne Vaz, VP Suhair, Ashutosh Mehta, and Rochharzela will be some of the Indian players to look out for in the young NorthEast United FC squad under the reign of Gerard Nus.
After the sale of majority stakes to City Football Group (CFG), several FC Goa stars like Mandar Rao Dessai, Ahmed Jahouh, Mourtada Fall and Hugo Boumous have followed their manager to Mumbai City FC in a complete transfer route.
City have also roped in impressive foreigners like Adam le Fondre, Hernan Santana and Cy Goddard. With such big names in the squad, City will be a strong side.
NorthEast United FC vs Mumbai City FC Head-to-Head
NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City FC have played each other on 12 occasions across the past six seasons. NorthEast United FC showed promise in the early years of the league but Mumbai City FC have been very consistent ever since.
Mumbai City FC have won 7 of the 12 games while the Highlanders could only manage three wins so far. Two games ended in a draw. The last time these two sides met was in January 2020 where Mumbai City FC bagged a 1-0 win.
NorthEast United FC vs Mumbai City FC Team News
NorthEast United FC had a decent pre-season. They were held goalless by Jamshedpur FC in the first friendly and pipped Hyderabad FC in a 2-1 win with goals from Kwesi Appiah and Luis Machado.
Two Indian players, possibly a goalkeeper and a key midfielder, will miss out on action due to the recent update from the team camp regarding positive cases of the coronavirus. Rest of the squad will be available to Gerard Nus for selection.
Sergio Lobera's Mumbai City FC will be raring to go in the first game. The Spaniard will have the entire squad at his disposal as Mumbai City FC look at possibly their best season in their short club history.
The star-studded Mumbai City FC had an impressive pre-season with wins over Odisha FC (3-2), Chennaiyin FC (1-0) and Bengaluru FC (1-0). They drew 0-0 with Kerala Blasters. The Islanders will be hopeful of replicating their pre-season results in the league stage as well.
NorthEast United FC vs Mumbai City FC Predicted XI
NorthEast United FC (4-1-4-1): Subhasish Roy Chowdhary, Gurjinder Kumar, Benjamin Lambot, Wayne Vaz, Ashutosh Mehta, Khassa Camara, Lalengmawia, Federico Gallego, Luis Machado, Britto PM, Idrissa Sylla
Mumbai City FC (4-2-3-1): Amrinder Singh (GK), Mourtada Fall, Tondomba Singh, Mandar Rao Dessai, Sarthak Golui, Rowllin Borges, Ahmed Jahouh, Raynier Fernandes, Hugo Boumous, Hernan Santana, Adam le Fondre
NorthEast United FC vs Mumbai City FC Prediction
NorthEast United FC have a balanced squad with some of the finest Indian players in the roster. However, the Highlanders lack the deciding factor in the squad which can win them a good number of fixtures.
Mumbai City FC, on the other hand, have arguably the best squad in the league and will go into the fixture as the firm favorites. The Highlanders will have to hope that a shorter pre-season and lack of match activity will work against Mumbai City FC.
Where to watch
The game will be televised on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 3 in India. Live Streaming will be available on Disney+Hotstar VIP and JIO TV.
All the LIVE updates from the game will also be available at the Sportskeeda Exclusive LIVE Match Center.
Scoreline Prediction: NorthEast United FC 1-3 Mumbai City FC