Mumbai City FC is all set to go head-to-head against the Uzbekistan side PFC Navbahor Namangan in their final Group D game of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Monday.

The Islanders are coming off a tough defeat to Nassaji Mazandaran, with the all-Indian Mumbai City FC going down 2-0 to the Iranian side in the penultimate group stage game, continuing their misery in the AFC Champions League.

Mumbai City FC has lost all five of their matches in the competition so far and will be playing for pride when they host PFC Navbahor. The Uzbek side, making their first appearance in the AFC Champions League, has performed remarkably well, giving a neck-to-neck fight to the Asian giants Al Hilal in Group D. They managed a draw with Al Hilal in the away fixture and suffered a 2-0 defeat in the home fixture, standing second in the table with 10 points.

In the away fixture against Navbahor, the Islanders enjoyed much of the ball possession but were not clinical in the final third, while the opposition made the most of their chances, handing Mumbai City FC a 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture.

Anthony Fernandes, currently in charge of the Mumbai City FC side, addressed the media ahead of the match and clarified their intention to finish the tournament on a high note and resume the ISL journey with a winning momentum.

“We would like to finish our campaign on a positive note. Even in the last two training sessions, the positivity and eagerness to play this match is as high as in any other match. We need to get into that winning momentum going into the ISL games,” said Fernandes.

Winger Lallianzuala Chhangte joined Fernandes in the pre-match press conference and discussed their preparations for the upcoming final group stage game.

“I think it's an important game, it will be a challenging game, but we approach this game very seriously because we want to win this game. Since the last few days, we have been doing everything possible to do well in this game and the preparation is well and the atmosphere in the team is very good and we are ready to go give our best,” said the Islanders’ forward.

The match will kick off at 9:30 PM IST and will be shown Live on Sports18 and streamed Live on the FanCode app.

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Mumbai City FC2023-2024