Mumbai City FC and Odisha FC’s second clash in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 takes place this Saturday at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Mumbai lost their earlier encounter against Odisha this campaign and were beaten in their last outing against ATK FC as well. Having said that, the Islanders will be buoyed by their unbeaten run away from home so far heading into the tie.

While speaking at the pre-match press conference, Mumbai’s assistant coach Marco Leite showed confidence in his team, “This game (against Odisha) is like every other game in the league, it will be difficult. We think that we are sharper than we were the last time we faced Odisha. That time we were facing some physical issues and now we’re much better and more prepared. I'm sure Odisha will be equally prepared for the next game, but it will be a tough game for both teams. Both teams know each other, we have played them in pre-season and during the league. So, I predict a good game and I hope we win.”

When asked who he thought Odisha’s biggest threat would be, Leite replied, “They have a very good team, they do the simple things effectively. They have a lot of quality players, both foreigners and Indian, but we are concerned about the whole team rather than a single player. They have players that can unbalance the match, but we have such players as well. If we worry too much about this, then we will worry about other things. They have their weapons and we have ours and the best team will win.”

Leite also felt that his side has what it takes to cope without their midfield maestro Paulo Machado, who’s injured, “We have lost Machado, who was a very important player for us, but we have other players who can do the job of Machado, and we trust them to do the job. So, they will help like Machado helped and I'm sure they will play at a good level. We believe in the whole team or else they would not be here.”

Defender Sauvik Chakrabarti joined Leite at the media briefing and gave his views on the game against Odisha, “We did lose the last match (against them), but the situation is different now. We are at a good place on the points table now. They are in good form as well, having won two continuous games and it will be a good match.”

Read the Match Preview here.