Reigning champions Mumbai City FC will take on Kerala Blasters in their penultimate Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday evening as they remain in contention for a third-place finish in the regular season.

The Islanders are tied on 33 points with the sixth-placed Odisha FC who in their final league game defeated 2021-22 season winner Jamshedpur FC 3-2 on Wednesday.  The former however need to secure just one point from their next two matches that will confirm their playoff berth.

As may be recalled the Lallianzuala Chhangte side had beaten Kerala Blasters FC by 4-2 in the reverse fixture back in November last year. They will be eyeing their 24th league double in ISL history against a side who are out of contention, placed ninth with 25 points from 22 encounters and in the process draw parity with FC Goa for doing so the most number of times in the competition.

Head-to-Head the  two sides have played 21 games over the seasons, with Mumbai City FC winning on 10 instances and Kerala Blasters FC emerging victorious five times. Six games resulted in draws.

For records Mumbai City FC have been unbeaten in their last eight away games (Four Wins and four Draws) and have a chance to equal their longest such streak on the road (Nine  games from October 2022 to February 2023). They have also scored 34 goals against their upcoming rivals over the seasons. Despite a higher Shooting Efficiency wherein they  average 14.5 shots per game,  their shot conversion rate stands at just 8.5%, the third lowest this season.

Kerala Blasters FC’s which has attempted to strike a balance between defense and offense have given away 36 goals this season,  matching their highest tally in a single ISL campaign (2020-21). They have found the back of the net 31 times this season marginally short of their previous best tally in two previous campaigns, 2021-22 (37 goals) and 2023-24 (33 goals),

Mumbai City Head Coach Petr while opening on the team’s motivation to secure the third place on the table, Mumbai City Head Coach Petr Kratky while lauding the team’s fighting spirit that saw them make a remarkable comeback after being two goals down against current ISL League winner and table topper Mohun Bagan in their final home outing, with ten men for most of the second half last week, emphasised that their priority was to finish the season with as many points as possible.

Reflecting on the season, he added, “Every season is different. We want to win every game, fight for every point. This season is different from the last, so we have to dig deeper. I'm very positive about the future of this team. It's a journey. If I reflect, it's been a tough season, but we have to keep working hard and pushing until the end.”

Kerala Blasters FC interim Head Coach TG Purushothaman maintained that he wants his side to sign off positively from the season. “I want to approach these games in a good manner. We will have to give our best efforts in front of our home fans,” he said.

Mumbai City player defender Prabir Das, who is on loan from Kerala Blasters, will step into familiar territory on Friday. Looking ahead to the encounter, he said, “As a professional, I will give my everything here. Yes, Kerala is not an easy place to go and play football, it will not be an easy game at all. But even though we need just one point to qualify, our aim is always to win matches. I think we might be peaking at the right time.”

Photo Above : Mumbai City FC will aim to reignite its team’s fighting spirit while aiming to finish the season with as many points as possible in their last two games en-route play-offs (Photo courtesy MCFC)