On the back of a thrilling away victory over Kerala Blasters FC in their first match of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20, Mumbai City FC will take on two-time champions Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.

At the pre-match press conference, Mumbai head coach Jorge Costa provided his take on the opponents and said, “We played against Chennaiyin in the pre-season and saw their first match against FC Goa. We will have a difficult game against them. But with due respect to the opposition, the most important thing for me is what we can do in our matches.”

Asked if the win in their last match may help the team in the upcoming fixture, Costa opined, “These are two different games. We played a wonderful match against Kerala and came out of it with three points. Now, we have to face Chennaiyin. It will be a very difficult match, if you ask me. My job is to see that the players recover in time and I can pick my best possible starting XI. One guarantee I can make is that we will fight for the three points.”

The Islanders lost Mato Grgic and Paulo Machado due to injuries in the match against Kerala. “We have several injuries. We had some problems in Kerala. But I have 25 players and I trust all of them and my first XI will give me 100 per cent guarantee that we will fight for the three points. Mato Grgic is out. We will see about Machado. We will see and take the best decision,” the Portuguese coach said about his selection woes.

Defender Sarthak Golui, who accompanied Costa to the presser, meanwhile, said, “It was important to win the first match of the season. The victory will give us confidence. It was a packed stadium and everyone was backing Kerala to win. But everyone in the team worked hard and we came out on top. We are looking forward to the Chennaiyin match.”

Read the Match Preview here.