Kerala Blasters FC make a return to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi for their first home encounter of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 against Mumbai City FC on Friday. The Blasters come into this game on the back of their stunning opening day victory against ATK and will want to go all out, especially with their passionate fans in attendance. On the other hand, Mumbai will be aiming to put their first points on the board, after going down to Jamshedpur FC at home on Tuesday, something which would be a bigger challenge, especially in front of the sea of yellow.

KERALA BLASTERS

Despite all the uncertainty surrounding them prior to the season, the Blasters displayed an exemplary performance to overcome ATK in their opening fixture. The Blasters looked menacing in attack and solid at the back and deservedly took home all three points.

David James will be confident that his side can pick up their second consecutive victory against the Islanders. History suggests that Kerala should not find it too hard to get a result, with Mumbai failing to win a single game at Kochi over the past four years. Given their performance in the first game, James is expected to play a largely unchanged side.

Dheeraj Singh looked confident during his debut Hero ISL game and is likely to start alongside Sandesh Jhingan, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic and Lalruatthara. In midfield, Nikola Krcmarevic and Sahal Abdul Samad will be responsible for orchestrating proceedings and feeding the likes of Matej Poplatnik and Slavisla Stojanovic upfront.

Here’s a look at Blasters’ season so far:

MUMBAI CITY FC

Jorge Costa was disappointed to get his Mumbai City tenure off to a losing start after a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Jamshedpur. The Islanders did create chances to gain a positive result, but poor finishing proved to be their downfall. The Portuguese will now have to rely on his forwards to step up their game, if he hopes to salvage a result against the Blasters.

Paulo Machado and Modou Sougou did prove threatening at times during their debut game and will be hoping to be more clinical in front of goal. Bipin Singh does have the ability to inflict the much-need creativity going forward, but will have to up his game after a rather disappointing club debut last time around.

Romanian defender Lucian Goian will be pivotal to Mumbai’s chances of victory on Friday. The centre-back put in a valiant performance against Jamshedpur, marshalling his defence from the back and making saves off-the-line. Even skipper Amrinder Singh needs to ensure that he weaves similar magic as he did in the 2017-18 season.

Here’s a look at Mumbai’s season so far:

PROBABLE LINE-UPS:

Kerala Blasters: Dheeraj Singh, Mohamad Rakip, Sandesh Jhingan, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic, Lalruatthara, Nikola Krcmarevic, Seiminlen Doungel, Sahal Abdul Samad, Halicharan Narzary, Slavisla Stojanovic, Matej Poplatnik

Mumbai City: Amrinder Singh, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Lucian Goian, Marko Klisura, Subhasish Bose, Sanju Pradhan, Paulo Machado, Mohammed Rafique, Bipin Singh, Modou Sougou, Rafael Bastos

DID YOU KNOW?

• Mumbai are yet to win against Kerala at Kochi.
• Mumbai are on a three-match losing streak (two from last season and one against Jamshedpur in their season opener).
• If Sandesh Jhingan plays, he will become the first player to play 60 matches in the Hero ISL.

FANSPEAK

Which of these two defenders will get their team over the finish line?

• Sandesh Jhingan
• Lucian Goian

Have your say in the comments section below.  

Catch the match live on the Star Sports Network, Hotstar and Jio TV from 7:30 PM.