Mumbai FC to take on boosted Bharat FC with wind in their sails

by Kaushal Shukla February 27, 2015

Bharat FC Vs Mumbai FC

Mumbai FC resume action on the road as they make a short trip south to face Kalyani Bharat FC at the Shree Shiv Chatrapati stadium at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on 27th February 2015.

Mumbai FC come into this game on the back of a good run of results, winning their last two and being unbeaten in three. But all of these results have come at Cooperage and Mumbai FC’s record away from home does n’t make a good reading.

Mumbai FC have failed to secure even a single point on the road, losing all three games, with the last one coming at the Balewadi Sports Complex against Bharat FC’s cross town rivals Pune FC.

Bharat FC were boosted with a win over Salgaocar last week, where they came out on top despite being at a numerical disadvantage. That was Bharat FC’s first win of the season and will be taking inspiration from today’s opponents Mumbai FC who turned around a similar corner few weeks ago.

Bharat FC will be without the suspended duo of G. Vignesh and Dharmaraj Ravanan. Apart from the suspensions, Stuart Watkiss will also be without the services of Bobby Hassell who suffered a toe injury against Salgaocar and will miss Friday’s game.

Mumbai FC have a fully fit squad to choose from and there is a positive news about Climax Lawrence who is in the race to be fit for the game. Coach Khalid Jamil said in the build up to the game that he will assess the veteran midfielder before making the final call.

“I may name an unchanged side from the one that played against Royal Wahingdoh. Including Climax is an option, but I will only take a decision after the final training session”.

Khalid Jamil was in a positive frame of mind ahead of today’ clash and highlighted his side’s recent wins as a confidence booster for his side. “Yes, we are high on confidence after we won both of our last two games, but it’s going to be very difficult to defeat Bharat FC. They are a very strong team and in the previous match they played very well to win”.

Jamil also noted that Bharat FC’s strength is the defence. “They (Bharat FC) have plenty of experience with some quality players and their defending is their strong point,” Jamil further stated.

Talking about his team, Jamil pointed out that they have to be positive. “We have to adopt a positive approach and not bother too much about the result. A win is certainly good, but a point is also satisfying. To achieve that we must be alert from the start and try our best,” Jamil mentioned.

A win could take Mumbai FC as high as fourth in the table , while a reverse result would mean Bharat FC leapfrog today’s opponents Mumbai FC into sixth place.