Mumbai City FC look to on move on from their defeat against Kerala Blasters FC when they take on hosts Delhi Dynamos FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday evening. Alexandre Guimaraes’ men started the 2016 Hero ISL campaign off to a flier beating FC Pune City and NorthEast United FC but they waned thereafter and could muster only one point from their next two matches, and now they face a tough opponent in Delhi Dynamos, who haven’t lost a single game this season. Guimaraes understands what they are up against on Tuesday.

“We have this game tomorrow which starts a block of four more games for us, of which three are away, so we will also try to win points away. We did not get points in Kerala, so we are hoping tomorrow for a better game and get points. The league is showing us that every game is going to be tough so I am expecting a tough game tomorrow as well,” Guimaraes told reporters on Monday.

“I think Delhi is doing really well. They are trying to play attractive football and they have shown that they are a really tough team and I hope that tomorrow will be a very good game because that’s what it’s all about.”

Delhi started their campaign with a 3-1 win against defending champions Chennaiyin FC, and then followed draws against Kerala Blasters FC and NorthEast United FC. The match against Highlanders was an end-to-end affair and saw some high quality football. When asked if in light of that match Mumbai were looking to field their best XI, Guimaraes said: “Well, it depends on what kind of feedback I get from our medical department and our physios. So for now the players who have more minutes of playing time, they feel ok. Nothing in the statistics that we have tells that we have to make drastic changes.”

Mumbai’s drop in form coincided with the absence of marquee player Diego Forlan, who didn’t feature in the team’s last two matches on account of injury. The 56-year-old Costa Rican gaffer provided an update on the Uruguayan’s fitness status. “Well, Forlan is going to be totally fit for our next match. I spoke to him yesterday and he is recovering well and will be ready to play FC Goa in our next game,” he said.

Guimaraes also showed satisfaction with the competitive level on display in the league into its third edition. “I am really surprised with the level, because first of all it is not easy to maintain this level especially with the way the league is designed. The games have shown us that it is a very tough league, we have different styles and also I believe for the league and for Indian football, it’s very good. The local players, at least till now, my players and other players, they have shown good skills and also very good discipline and desire to get better so I am very pleased with the intention to promote football through the Indian Super League,” he said.

Guimaraes also provided an insight into how the Hero ISL was different from the Chinese league, where he coached Tianjin Teda FC for a couple of years. “Well, first of all it’s different ways. You are just starting your journey here with the intentions to promote football in a different way…From my experience both here and there I can tell you that you have a bright future. I think here also we have, let’s say, more young players than they have there. There they don't have too many young players playing. So this is the way you have to develop and I am very happy to be here and part of this,” he said.