Indian Super League : Must-win for Delhi Dynamos against Mumbai City FC

New Delhi: Still winless at the halfway stage of the Indian Super League, Delhi Dynamos will look to lock their first full points from a match when they take on Mumbai City FC here on Monday.

Delhi Dynamos are at the bottom of the ISL table with four points from their first nine matches. They are yet to win a single game and they have just four draws to show. Delhi Dynamos have shown plenty of promises in several games, but if they do not convert their dominance into wins, they can forget about qualifying for the play-offs. 

“We have an important game against a very good side, Mumbai City FC. It's match-day 10 and we still don't have a win. But I think we have been playing well in the last couple of games. I have a lot of respect for Mumbai, but I hope that we can put a good performance and win the game,” said Dynamos head coach Josep Gombau. 

The Lions do not have dearth of creativity, but it is their finishing which has let them down. Gombau will hope that his side can get their act together and pick their first win of the season on Monday. 

“I think we played well and created a lot of chances against Goa and Bengaluru but could not finish well. This time, the team is confident on putting the ball at the back of the net,” said the coach, whose team has already dropped four points from winnable positions at home. 

Mumbai City are set to play the first of their three games in nine days, of which two are away. Coach Jorge Costa is wary of Delhi, despite having beaten them in the first tie 2-0 at home. “If you don't watch Delhi play and you look at their position, you can be disappointed. 

But if you watch them play, you'll know that they are playing well. In the last game against Bengaluru, they created a lot of chances and looked very organised. They deserved to be up by two or three goals by half-time. So, we need to respect them and be focused,” said Costa. 

Mumbai's away form has been good, having lost just one in four games. The brilliance of Paulo Machado in the middle of the park coupled with a strong back-line led by Lucian Goian and Subhasish Bose have been crucial for the team. Interestingly, Delhi and Mumbai have scored a mere seven goals, which is the joint lowest in the league. 

For Mumbai, six of their seven goals have been scored by their foreign contingent in attack while for Delhi, five of their seven have been netted by the Indian players.