Bengaluru FC will look to extend their lead at the top of the table when they face off against second-placed Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday. The Blues have been undefeated so far in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 and will look to keep the record intact when they step onto the field for the crucial top of the table clash.

The match will be the Blues' first engagement after over a month-long winter break, but head coach Carles Cuadrat insisted that the team was ready to pick up from where they left off before the break. "It’s good to be back after a well-deserved but rather long break. We worked very hard in the first phase of the season and it was good to unwind. The boys were handed a plan for the holidays too and we regrouped in the second week of January. Everyone has taken care of themselves and that tells a lot about how motivated the team is to carry on the good work we have been doing," he said.

Asked if the hiatus may hamper the momentum Bengaluru had built up in the first half of the season, Cuadrat responded, "It’s nice to have this unbeaten run going, but the key aim is to book a place in the play-off stages as soon as we can. Whether the long break will affect our momentum or not, only time will tell. But we have been working hard and hope to keep the run going for as long as we can."

Bengaluru have had to deal with playing without key players Miku and Dimas Delgado in quite a few matches over the course of the season. Quizzed about how important the duo's sustained availability will be for the rest of the season, the Spaniard said, "Miku and Dimas are players with special abilities and to have the missing has been a very big blow to the way we play. However, credit to the rest of the team who stepped up knowing that they will all have to give that extra bit and the results tell the story. Like I said, our first aim is to make the play-off stages and we will need every player to contribute to the cause."

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