Chennai: Chennaiyin FC will aim to carry their impressive away-form from the 2024-25 season into their first home win as they take on Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday. This fixture also marks a milestone as the 1000th game in the Indian Super League (ISL), adding to the anticipation for home fans.
The Marina Machans will face a team just one spot below them in the standings, who come into the game unbeaten in their last four league matches, with two wins and two draws. A victory would lift CFC to second place in the table before the international break, making the 1000th game an unforgettable occasion for Chennaiyin supporters.
Head coach Owen Coyle emphasized this in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“Tomorrow’s the 1000th game in the Indian Super League – what a fantastic achievement for the league, seeing how it’s progressed, developed, and given young Indian players an opportunity. We’re proud to be part of it, representing Chennaiyin against a very good team in Mumbai, and we have to ensure we’re at our best. We’re looking forward to it,” said Coyle.
With 11 points from seven matches this season, the Marina Machans have accumulated their highest-ever tally after these many games in seven seasons. Their previous best was the 13 points they had garnered in the same encounters in the 2017-18 season of the competition. The Marina Machans had emerged as the ISL champions that season. Are similar feats on the cards for them in the current campaign?
CFC have been on the road for five of their first seven matches this season, recording three wins and two draws. Coyle addressed this in his comments, explaining how the team plans to maximize points over the season.
“We’ve done well away because we’ve had five away games. We’ve only had two games at home! We could have won the first game against Mohammedan and played very well against a strong FC Goa side. What we need to do is continue performing to our potential,” Coyle added.
Mumbai City FC’s frontline presents their A-game on the road, scoring in their 11 consecutive away matches. They have netted multiple times in nine of those games, and in the previous five of them on the bounce. The only side to score 2+ times in more successive away games in the ISL are the Islanders themselves (7 consecutive away games between February 2020 and January 2023). The Chennaiyin FC defence that has conceded 11 strikes so far will have to be wary of this.
Saturday’s clash will be the 21st meeting between Chennaiyin and Mumbai in ISL history, with CFC looking for their seventh win in this fixture. Mumbai City have won 11 matches while three games ended in a draw.
–IANS
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