Riding on a club record seven-match unbeaten run, a rampant Mumbai City FC will hope to finish the year on an even higher note when they welcome a struggling Kerala Blasters FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday. The Islanders, last seen in action about a week back, are well-rested and have the perfect opportunity to cut Bengaluru FC’s lead at the top of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 table to just three points.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Mumbai head coach Jorge Costa declared that the upcoming match will possibly be the most difficult challenge for his team so far. "Like always, we know what we must do. In my opinion, it will be the most difficult game and I can explain why. We are the last one to play and against a team who have nothing to lose. It will be difficult because it is the last game of the year. After this, the players will have a small break. They will go home and on holidays. Hence, we must be focussed," he said.

Quizzed about the secret behind his team's brilliant run in the last seven matches, Costa said, "We are playing as a team. We are doing well. Nothing special. Just doing our jobs in the games and everyday in training. That’s it. When you have quality and when you work seriously, you can have success."

In their last match against Bengaluru, Mumbai put in a gritty performance to hold the league leaders to a 1-1 draw, despite having to play more than 40 minutes with 10 men. Costa lauded the performance but stated there was still a lot of room to grow. "I think character was not all we had in the last game. But like always, we are doing well. But I am not 100% happy. We have things that we must improve. We are far from being perfect. I’m sure we will never be perfect, but we must work everyday to be better than before," he said.

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