FC Pune City will be on the road for the second time in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 when they face Mumbai City FC in the Maharashtra Derby at the Mumbai Football Arena on Friday. The Stallions are the only team who haven’t yet played their second match in the current campaign and they will be looking for their first win of the season in the Maha Derby. Prior to their second game of the campaign, Pune’s head coach Miguel Portugal was present at the press conference to address the media.

He began by speaking about the game, while assessing their opponents. “It’s the second match for us. I know Mumbai lost against Jamshedpur in the first match here, but I think they played well against Kerala Blasters in their second match. It’s a different match against us when compared to the Jamshedpur game. I think Jorge Costa had planned well for that match. Also, I know the problems with Mumbai and we will try and win here.”

The Stallions’ head coach shared how his side was preparing during the international break. “We prepared the team on the concept I like. I like playing outside because I feel I like going forward and crossing the ball because you have a good possibility of scoring a goal when you do that. This is my idea and our idea. I like to play outside, but I try to play inside when the opponent is on the inside.”

The Spaniard elaborated further on his team’s style of play and shed some light on his football philosophy. “We prepare for this match as my team. We must always play in my philosophy. My team always plays to score one goal more than their opponent, for the win. We must have ball possession, win the possession and we must play outside and inside. And we must always have one focus which is to finish the play.”

The 62-year-old ended by giving updates on captain Marcelinho’s availability for Friday’s game. “I don’t know about Marcelinho at this moment... I try to mix the players of the squad for back-to-back matches. Tomorrow I will think who the players will be for the match and about whom to choose. And I’ll also think about the other players for the match against Bengaluru.”

Click here to read the match preview.