It’s a contest between two form teams on Matchday 23 of the second season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL). Both Mumbai City FC and NorthEast United FC started their campaign on an unsatisfactory note but now both are back with a bang with back-to-back wins and the contest at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday promises to be a cracker. While Mumbai broke Delhi Dynamos FC’s three-match winning streak before humbling table-toppers FC Goa, NorthEast United FC got the better of Chennaiyin FC and defending champions Atletico de Kolkata.

Mumbai City FC so far: L-D-L-W-W

NorthEast United FC so far: L-L-L-W-W

Head-to-Head: NorthEast United FC lead 1-0. Last year, playing away they beat Mumbai 2-0 and when Mumbai travelled to Guwahati the contest ended in a 1-1 draw.

Frederick Piquionne vs Andre Bikey:

This is going to be one heck of a physical contest. Piquionne has scored twice for Mumbai City FC and his strike against FC Goa in the last match was the 50th goal of this season. He should be high on confidence going into the match. However, he is directly in confrontation with Bikey who has had very good matches against Chennaiyin FC and ATK. He has been so good that Miguel Garcia, whom he replaced ahead of the Chennaiyin game, hasn’t been missed much. The battle between with Piquionne and Bikey will influence the outcome of the game a great deal.

Diomansy Kamara vs Cristian Bustos

A lip-smacking contest by all means! Kamara has taken a little bit of time to settle in and now he is now one of the NorthEast players who Mumbai should fear. He was quite impressive in the last two matches and there were indications he wasn’t far away from hitting top gear. Kamara has four shots on target so far and will looking to open his account. Bustos, on the other hand, is living up to his reputation as a defensive midfielder. He has appeared in four matches so far and has been very impressive. He has a big responsibility on his hands on Wednesday as Kamara is a tough nut to crack.

Nicolas Velez vs Darren O’Dea

With three goals this season, Nicolas Velez is posing a big threat to Mumbai City FC. In NorthEast United FC’s both wins, Velez has hit the back of the net. He mostly comes on in the second half when the opposition defence is tired and so far he has made the most of that situation with his pace. This time Velez is up against Irish defender O’Dea who has had good three games he has played in passing-wise. He is alert and won’t be easy to deal with for Velez but there is no doubt that this match-up will have plenty of excitement to offer.

Quotes:

We're playing at home - it's a must-win game for us. We'll [soon] finish the home run of five games…we need to do our homework and capitalise on our home games as nobody has any idea [as to] what could happen in the league: Mumbai City FC assistant coach Oscar Bruzon

We believe in our players and in the work that we do, the way we play the game. I'm sure they'll be worrying about us as well. Nobody main as such, we'll be prepared for all of them: NorthEast United coach Cesar Farias

Squads:

Mumbai City FC: Subrata Paul, Albino Gomes, Debjit Majumder, Kinshuk Debnath, Darren O’Dea, Pavel Čmovš, Keegan Pereira, Lalchhuanmawia Fanai (Chhuantea), Frantz Bertin, Rowilson Rodrigues, Airtor Fernandez Lopez, Gabriel Fernandes, Juan Aguilera Nunez, Brandon Fernandes, André Francisco Moritz, Selim Benachour, Cristian Bustos, Sarang Singh, Pratesh Shirodkar, Sampath Kumar Kuttymani, Ashutosh Mehta, Singam Subash Singh, Nicolas Anelka (Marquee & Manager), Sony Norde, Sunil Chhetri, Frederic Piquionne

NorthEast United FC: Aiborlang Khongjee, Robin Gurung, Boithang Haokip, Alen Deory, Rehenesh Thumbirumbu Paramba, Sanju Pradhan, Hali Charan Narzary, Seityasen Singh, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Siam Hanghal, Raju Yumnam, Reagan Singh , Marlangki Suting, Zohmingliana Ralte, Kondwani Mtonga, Andre Bikey, Gennaro Bracigliano, Simao Pedro Da Fonseca Sabrosa (Marquee Player), Bruno Herrero Arias, Diomansy Mehdi Moustapha Kamara, Jorge Manuel Rebelo Fernandes, Cedric Alain Hervine Hengbart, Nicolas Leandro Velez, Francis Dadzie, Boubacar Sanogo