It has been quite a turnaround for Mumbai City FC in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19. After the disappointing 5-0 loss to FC Goa earlier in the season, Mumbai responded brilliantly with three wins on a trot. The Islanders have evidently put their early struggles behind them as they prepare for a visit from two-time Hero ISL champions ATK. The two teams will lock horns at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the fixture, Mumbai head coach Jorge Costa attributed the team’s resurgence to the hard work put in by the players. "We won the three games. So obviously I’m happy. And especially I’m happy with the way that we played. We are fighting a lot. Nobody gave anything to us and I’m very happy with the players because the spirit that we have in the group. It is amazing," he said.

Despite having a three-point advantage over their opponents, Costa said his team should exercise caution against a strong ATK side. The Portuguese, however, was confident in his team’s ability to get a positive result from the match. "Very good team. Very good players. Very good coach with a lot of experience. So, we will not expect an easy game tomorrow against ATK. It's true that their position in the league is not what they expect. But I must take care of the things that I can control. And the thing that I can control is my players. I’m sure that we are ready to fight for three points and play a good game," he stated.

Ever since Goa put five past the Islanders barely a month back, Mumbai have tightened up their defence considerably and kept three clean sheets in their last three outings. Asked about the changes he implemented to shore up the backline, Costa replied, "Nothing. We changed nothing. If you remember, after the Goa match, I said that we played a wonderful first-half. We had a lot of opportunities to score. I was not happy at the end because we lost and because we gave up in the match. If we don’t count the Goa game, our team is playing good. (We have) good players, good organization and we are fighting in all matches for three points.”

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