Mumbai, Oct 26: A highly-anticipated showdown awaits at the Mumbai Football Arena as Mumbai City FC host Odisha FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season on Sunday. The game will mark the return of the Islanders’ former head coach Sergio Lobera to familiar territory, this time at the helm of Odisha FC.

Lobera, who led Mumbai City FC to a historic double in the 2020-21 season, remains cherished by the West Coast Brigade, promising an emotional return for the Spaniard.

Both teams will be looking to secure a critical win, as Odisha FC seek to break their away game losing streak while Mumbai City FC hope to improve their start to the season.

The two teams have played each other 10 times in the Indian Super League (ISL). Mumbai City FC have won six games and Odisha FC have emerged victorious thrice. Only one encounter has resulted in a draw.

Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky is in a pleasant mood after finally getting three points in their bag against FC Goa. He is confident that the team is on the right path and expressed happiness about the present camaraderie in their setup.

“We still need to improve a lot of football, but we are on a good pathway. The boys are together, which is very important, and fighting until the last minute. So, I'm very happy for the group, and again, it's part of the football, where we need to just go game by game, and now we have to focus on the other one,” Kratky said.

Odisha FC, much like Mumbai City, head into this game on the back of a 2-1 win. Their triumph against East Bengal FC must have come as a sigh of relief for Sergio Lobera, but he is demanding more from his players.

“Results are important but as a coach, I have to analyse. And from my analysis, I feel we need to improve. The result can't change my mentality as a coach. We need to be ambitious and we need to improve,” Lobera said.

--IANS

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