FC Pune City will welcome neighbours Mumbai City FC at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium on Saturday for the season's second derby between the two Maharashtra-based sides. Despite their 3-1 loss in their last match against Delhi Dynamos FC, the Stallions have shown real signs of progress under new head coach Phil Brown and will look to end the season on a high with a home victory over their arch rivals.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Brown expressed his satisfaction at the team’s performances under him and also analysed the loss to Delhi. "I’ve been delighted with the team performance up until the game last week. I know there were reasons behind the bad performance. The loss of key players who had been important to us was one of it. Big players play a big part in any game of football. There were a lot of Indian boys involved in that. You’ve got to have them ready and available," he said.

"Having lost Ashique Kuruniyan 20-25 mins into the game consequently meant that we were without all four first-choice midfield players. But its hopefully a corner we’ve turned with regards to the performance. We’ve analysed it. The work rate was there. The commitment was there. The level of understanding about the opposition wasn’t quite there. It’s a new challenge on the horizon against Mumbai. It’ll be a good challenge," he added.

With a host of suspensions and injuries to contend with, Brown was asked about his possible team selection for Saturday. "I don’t want to necessarily flood it with youngsters because its important that when you do pick youngsters you put them in a team that could possibly go on to win a game, go on to play well, perform well. If I can field my strongest team out and add the energy of the Indian boys and the young players, we will have a good go. We know it will be a difficult game," he replied.

The 59-year-old concluded his pre-match duty by speaking about the preparations required to face the Islanders side, who excel at the counter-attacking game. "I think the preparation against Mumbai is basically to know their strengths. The lad up front (Modou Sougou) scores plenty of goals and makes great runs in behind, he times his runs in behind. I think the strength of their team is down the right-hand side. I think it will be an entertaining game. I know Mumbai is a decent side. They’ve got strength in depth, more than we have," he stated.

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