East Bengal FC in pursuit of maiden Hero ISL win over Mumbai City FC

East Bengal FC have traveled to Mumbai to play their last away game in the ongoing Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season. The Red & Golds will take on Shield Winners Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on February 19 (Sunday).

The Islanders have already secured the top spot in the table. A tough challenge awaits the Kolkata-based Club as they aim to register their maiden win over Mumbai City FC.

EBFC will go into the game on the back of a 0-2 defeat against Chennaiyin FC last week. They currently occupy the tenth spot in the league table with 16 points from 18 games (5 wins, 1 draw and 12 defeats). They are out of the playoff race, but will play for pride before heading into next week’s Kolkata derby.

MCFC, meanwhile, had an unbeaten run in the competition until they lost 1-2 to Bengaluru FC on Wednesday.

As far as the head-to-head record between the two sides is concerned, EBFC have faced their Mumbai counterparts seven times, winning twice, drawing once and losing four times.

In the 2018 Hero Super Cup Round of 16 game at the Kalinga Stadium, EBFC beat MCFC 2-1, courtesy goals from Katsumi Yusa and Mahmoud Al Amna.

Their most recent victory against the Islanders came during the 2022 Durand Cup where a brace each from Cleiton Silva and Sumeet Passi propelled them to a 4-3 win.

However, EBFC suffered a 0-3 defeat at the Salt Lake Stadium when the two sides last met.

Apuia (2) and Greg Stewart had scored for MCFC in that game.

Addressing the media in the pre-match press conference, EBFC Head Coach Stephen Constantine made it clear that they are currently focusing only on Sunday’s contest. “We still have 2 games left. We’ll play against the Shield Winners on Sunday. We have to focus on that game. We’ll start thinking about the derby only after the final whistle is blown on Sunday”, the former Indian National Team Head Coach said.

Defender Sarthak Golui, who accompanied Constantine for the press conference, said, “Although we haven’t had a good season, every game is important for us. We’ll try our best to win our last 2 matches and end this season’s ISL campaign on a high.”