I-League Media Team

MUMBAI: A slug fest is in the offing when Mumbai FC host former champions Dempo as both teams look to jump places in the Hero I-League at the Cooperage Stadium on Saturday.

After a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Shillong Lajong at their last fixture at Cooperage, Mumbai showed plenty of character to hold defending champions Bengaluru FC to a 1-1 draw in the mid-week clash. The hosts will now hope to take all three points against a struggling Dempo side, who have managed just one win in the 11 matches they have played.

After a lacklustre performance against Lajong, Mumbai looked more purposeful and energetic against Bengaluru following the return of India U-23 international Jayesh Rane’s return to the squad. The fact that their Japanese midfielder also came on as a late substitute in that match bodes well for Saturday’s hosts. Mumbai will rely heavily on those two players to deliver the goods while at the same time, would hope their defence holds up well.

After a string of strong defensive displays, the Khalid Jamil coached side has conceded 10 goals in the last three matches and have tried three different goalkeepers. Their central defenders too have looked off colour. However, it is likely that Jamil will choose to go with the same defensive combination that he used against Bengaluru on Tuesday and give goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh another outing in this crucial match.

When asked, Jamil chose to keep his cards close to his chest. “Nidhin Lal was upset after conceding six goals so I chose to give him some time. I will see if he will play tomorrow. But I don’t think there will be many changes to the side,” Jamil said.

Dempo, too, will be hoping to get back to winning ways. Their assistant coach Aaron Symons said the team has been ‘unlucky’ this season in terms of the availability of their foreign players. He said he did not have the option of choosing all his key foreigners in a match together as one of them was either injured or suspended. “It’s been that way throughout the season. I’m sure once we are able to get all our four foreigners on the field, we will be okay. We’ve played 11 games now and we have not had all the foreigners on the pitch in one game at any stage of the season,” Symons said.

Afghanistan international Haroon Amiri will once again be the key man for Dempo. His two goals helped Dempo hold Sporting Clube de Goa to a 2-2 draw earlier this week. Tolgay Ozbey will be unavailable for the match but Carlos Hernandez will return for them. However, if Dempo are to improve on their current position, they are 10th in the 11-team league, they will need their Indian players to take more responsibility.