Chennaiyin FC Vs Mumbai City FC Prediction: Home side lost last five against Mumbai

Chennaiyin will host Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai in the Indian Super League for game week 8. The home side lost the last five games against Mumbai. Who will be the winner after 90 minutes?

Chennaiyin FC Form

Marina Machans come into this match after an impressive 5-1 away win against Jamshedpur FC, which vindicates the strength of the team in picking valuable points on an away turf. Chennaiyin has been exceptional in their performances in away matches this season, winning three out of their five games with a narrow loss to Punjab FC. Still, they have not won a game at home so far.

Their tie with the defending champions, Mumbai City FC, will not be easy. Mumbai, who won the first tussle of the season 2-0, would look to capitalize on their superiority. Chennaiyin will have to make good use of offense as well as defense to book their first home win of the season.

Chennaiyin sources of good luck will be striker Wilmar Jordan Gil, with six goals, and creative midfielder Conor Shields, with three assists. Chennaiyin is especially good in scoring within the second half, having scored most of its goals within the minutes immediately following the break. They also often concede late on, though, as they have let in three of their eleven goals in the last 15 minutes.

Chennaiyin will have to sustain their attacking pressure and tighten up their defense against late threats in the match to grab Mumbai City.

A victory for Chennaiyin will boost their morale as well as league standing.

Chennaiyin FC Probable Starting Lineup

Nawaz, Yumnam, Edwards, Lalinpuia, Renthlei, Barretto, Shields, Dias Junior, Nassiri Giri, Jordan, Yadwad.

Mumbai City FC Form

It ended the present season of Mumbai City FC in impressive fashion by downing Kerala Blasters 4-2. Leading up to this match, the Islanders had struggled going forward as they had scored only seven goals in the six matches that had gone by. From this win, it can be sensed that something good is happening for the Islanders, and it begins with Nikos Karelis, who scored two goals against Kerala.

For Mumbai to continue to be on this roll, key attackers such as Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Pratap Singh are going to have to continue that kind of support in the midfield. The games they play at the close ends up exposing the Marina Machans defense very weakly.

Statistics favours Mumbai in some of the phases, as seven of their eleven goals have arrived in the first half and in the last 15 minutes. Chennaiyin has conceded the most in the final stages, and this makes for a thrilling encounter where timing should play a big role.

This match is expected to be an all-action affair as both teams appear to look for windows from the frailties of their opponents to gain leverage in the league table.

Mumbai City FC Starting XI

P. Lachenpa (GK); Mawia, M. Singh, Arroyo N,Rodrigues; Total, Y. Van Nieff, Fernandes; L. Chhangte, N. Karelis, B. Singh

Chennaiyin FC Vs Mumbai City FC Expert Predictions

Mumbai on Saturday will be the true test of their home form, which needs correction, and a strong message for the other teams. For the former champions, it will prove to be the ultimate test of their offensive style of play, which has been so impressive this season, having generated the second-most opportunities (88) of any team. For Mumbai City, it will be a matter of returning to the fundamentals: putting their trust in their defense and cashing in when chances to score come along.

Mumbai City has not given Chennaiyin space to breathe in their last three matches as they have all won while having clean sheets. This superiority is evident in the odds where the city lies favorites to win while the latter's are trading as underdogs. Over 2.5 goals are expected for the game.