Mumbai City FC will try to recover from their loss against Odisha FC when they take on FC Goa in a tough home fixture in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 at the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday.

Ahead of the fixture, joining indiansuperleague.com for an exclusive pre-match interview was Mumbai’s midfield ace Paulo Machado. Here are excerpts from the interview.

How difficult will facing a consistent team like FC Goa be?

As always, it is tough to play against Goa. We know they have amazing players, but we want to win against them. We have conceded a lot of goals against them in the past. We will try to change this and win the game.                                   

On what we can expect in the match against FC Goa.

I think the upcoming game will be a fantastic one. We know games against Goa are always amazing, with a lot of goals. I hope we can win this game, because the last game didn’t go well for us (against Odisha), but I think we are prepared for this game.

Is the defence a concern for Mumbai City FC?

It is always difficult when you receive (concede) goals, but the defence is not at fault, the whole team is at fault. We must be in place (position), we must help our brothers (teammates), but for the next match, I think, we must be prepared for the game, and try to win.

How Mumbai City FC are coping with the injuries to key players?

We fight (to give their best) always, because we have a lot of injuries right now, including me. We give our maximum effort. We have 25 players, everyone is prepared to play, the head coach knows all the players are here to help. We must put our heads into the game and forget about the injuries.

On your role as co-captain in the team, especially with the injury concerns?

As always we want to feel 100% but sometimes we are not 100%, because you feel you have an injury, but as a co-captain I will always be there to help my teammates and the team, if they need me, I will always be the guy who gives 100% on the field.

Read the Match Preview here.