The strongest side of the season, Mohun B., faces winless Jamshedpur in the Monday encounter of Indian Football League 2020-21.
Mohun B has won three matches out of three, and they require just one point to upstage Mumbai from the top spot, while Jamshedpur stands at the eighth spot in the table with two points.
Match Timings: Dec 07, 7:30 PM
Team Preview
Mumbai’s three-matches winning streak gave Sergio Lobero to sit at the top of the table, and the glory might remain temporary as Mohun B. will play its fourth game against struggling Jamshedpur on Monday. The Mariners are unbeaten this season, and the best part is, they haven’t conceded a single goal to keep three clean-sheets. Antonio Habas’s side is not playing hardcore football, but the tight defense stops the opponent's sides to score any goal. With the inclusion of Jhingan and Tiri at the back, the Mariners have a strong deadlock.
In the previous game, Odisha almost held Habas’ men for a goalless draw. Both teams had a good tussle in the midfield from the starting of the game. Odisha managed to get a chance in the 35th minute, courtesy of defender Jacob Tratt, but he failed to beat the goalkeeper. In the 95th minute, Roy Krishna scored a winner through the header after an intense second half.
The Mariners will be going to miss Jobby Justin and Michael Soosairaj due to the injury. Edu Garcia might be available after missing the previous two affairs. David Williams would make a comeback after recovering from a toe injury.
Meanwhile, Jamshedpurhave delivered some impact in the first three games, but it didn’t deliver much on the points table. Owen Coyle has improved the game of the Red Miners. In the opening fixture, they tasted the 2-1 defeat against Chennai but avoided defeat in the next two by playing consecutive draws. On match-week third, Stephen Eze saved another defeat by scoring a late equaliser in reply to Aridane Santana’s 50th-minute strike.
Jamshedpur needs to fix out its goalkeeping woes. TP Rehenesh made a bizarre error in the first game against Odisha, which cost him a red card. In the previous game, goalkeeper Pawan Kumar also delivered mistakes. His fumble at the beginning of the second half gave an early lead to Hyderabad. TP Rehenesh will be back in the side after a below-average performance from Pawan Kumar.
Jackichand Singh, Alexandre Lima, Aitor Monroy, and Nerijus Valskis are making Red Miners’ attack strong. They broke the deadlock of Hyderabad, who kept a clean sheet in its previous two. On Monday, injuries can hurt Owen Coyle as his three overseas players Joyner Lourenco, Narender Gehlot, and David Grande, will miss this crunch affair.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Jamshedpur
TP Rehenesh, Laldinliana Renthlei, Peter Hartley, Stephen Eze, Ricky Lallawmawma, Aitor Monroy, Mobashir Rehman, Alex Lima, Jackichand Singh, Isaac Vanmalsawma, Nerijus Valskis
Mohun B.
Arindam Bhattacharya, Tiri, Sandesh Jhingan, Pritam Kotal, Javi Hernandez, Carl McHugh, Subhasish Bose, Prabir Das, David Williams, Roy Krishna
Key Players
Jamshedpur
Nerijus Valskis
15 goals & 6 assists in Indian Football League 2019-20
3 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Jackichand Singh
5 goals in Indian Football League 2019-20
Mohun B.
Roy Krishna
15 goals & 6 assists in Season 2019-20
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
David Williams
7 goals & 5 assists in Season 2019-20
