JOIN USBengaluru FC face acid test against rampant Mumbai
Reeling after two back-to-back defeats, Bengaluru FC will look to arrest their slide when they return to action at the Fatorda Stadium in the Indian Super League for the first time in the new year on Tuesday.
And who better than the in-form and tournament favourites Mumbai City FC to make a statement.
Facing Mumbai is a double-edged sword for BFC. Should they beat the high-flying Islanders, it can potentially galvanise their stuttering campaign.
But another reversal will them to three losses in a row - a dubious first for them in ISL. Yes, Mumbai, sitting second in the table, have been strolling through the league. But Bengaluru manager Carles Cuadrat will back himself against his opposite number Sergio Lobera, considering their history.
Cuadrat has lost just one of their six meetings while getting the better of Lobera four times during the latter’s stint with FC Goa.
Although they honed their craft at FC Barcelona, the two coaches have vastly differing philosophies. Lobera sees football as a expansive, expressive and entertaining show while for Cuadrat, the beauty lies in character, defensive grit, cerebral tactics and set-pieces.
The Spaniard has, over the years, perfected the system and personnel in his team to stop Lobera’s side from playing. A tactic that won him the ISL title. And Lobera, who worries more about improving plan A than think of a plan B, has more often than not, come up short.
“At Mumbai, Lobera has been creating the same kind of football and he has brought some players from (FC) Goa. They are in a good dynamic but we have a plan and I’m sure that we will give a good show,” Cuadrat said on the eve of the game.
That said, scoring woes remain for Bengaluru, with both their foreign strikers yet to find the net. Oppositions teams are also getting wiser to their set-piece prowess and they will miss suspended Erik Paartalu as well.
Mumbai have been unbeaten since the first matchday. In the intervening period they have won six of their seven games. They have scored 13 goals, the highest in the league, riding an ominous-looking frontline led by Adam Le Fondre and Hugo Boumous.
Furthermore, Lobera has also tightened up the defence - a bit of a blind spot for the manager during his time with Goa - and have the joint best defence in the league having conceded just three goals.
On the face of it, Mumbai are the favourites but historically, Bengaluru have always risen to challenges. So write them off, at your own peril.