Two struggling sides, Mumbai City FC and Punjab FC meet at Mumbai Football Arena to fight for a spot in the top five of the ISL 2024-25 league table.
MUM vs PUN Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Time: 19:30 (IST)
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai
MUM vs PUN Match Preview
Mumbai City did not have the start they expected in the 2024-25 season, sitting in ninth after seven games and securing just 10 points. While they have lost just once this season, the Islanders have managed just two wins leaving them seven points behind the top spot. However, Petr Kratky’s side is only three points away from entering the ISL playoffs, having two games in hand. They have drawn a lot of games, four in total, including a 1-1 draw in the game before the international break against Chennaiyin FC. Mumbai failed to score just once this season but their problem lies in their back with the team keeping no clean sheets. Apart from Niko Karelis scoring the most goals for the side, no other new signings have clicked for the ISL Cup holders which will be a concern for the manager. Restarting action after the international break, Mumbai City wants to put their problems aside by shining against Punjab FC in their fourth home game of the season and the third in the last four matches.
Panagiotis Dilmperis’s Punjab FC made a stunning start to the 2024-25 ISL season winning their first three games, beating some top sides and looking to be an early contender for the League Shield. However, the Shers lost three out of four following games including consecutive defeats to FC Goa and NorthEast United putting them in a tough situation. Against the Highlanders, the team went 2-0 down within three minutes of conceding the opener in the 15th minute and failed to make a come-back despite having a man advantage in the second half. Center-back Ivan Novoselec's strike in the 88th minute was too little too late. With this result, Punjab FC suffered their first home defeat of the season. Still hogging the sixth place because of their impressive start, Punjab FC fears another loss may drop them from the playoff spots. The Shers have not lost three games in a row even in their ISL debut season so there will be a cry for a change of form in the trip to Mumbai, despite failing to win this fixture in both games last time.
Recent Form
MUM: DWDWD
PUN: WLWLL
MUM vs PUN Predicted Lineups
Mumbai City
Phurba Lachenpa; Valpuia, Mehtab Singh, Tiri, Nathan Rodrigues; Thaer Krouma, Van Nieff; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Brandon Fernandes, Bipin Singh; Nikos Karelis
Punjab FC
Ravi Kumar; Leon Augustine, Suresh Meitei, Ivan Novoselec, Abhishek Singh; Nikhil Prabhu, Filip Mrzljak, Vinit Rai; Ezequiel Vidal, Luka Majcen, Nihal Sudeesh
MUM vs PUN Head-to-head (Overall)
Played - 4
MUM won - 3
Drawn - 0
PUN won - 1
MUM vs PUN Head-to-head (ISL)
Played - 2
MUM won - 2
Drawn - 0
PUN won - 0
MUM vs PUN Dream11 Match Prediction
Despite having problems winning games, Mumbai City are not losing games giving them confidence to seize three points in this fixture. Punjab FC’s slumping form comes at the wrong time. We predict a 2-1 win for the Islanders.
MUM vs PUN Dream11 Team Top picks
Captain Pick: Lallianzuala Chhangte
Vice-captain Pick: Filip Mrzljak
MUM vs PUN Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Ravi (Cr - 7, Pts - 95)
DEF: Tiri (Cr - 8, Pts - 114), Novoselec (Cr - 8), Nathan (Cr - 8)
MID: Chhangte (Cr - 8), Van Nieff (Cr - 9), Mrzljak (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 125), Vidal (Cr - 8, Pts - 114)
FW: Majcen (Cr - 8, Pts - 118), Karelis (Cr - 8.5), Sudeesh (Cr - 8, Pts - 74)
Vice-captain: Filip Mrzljak
Captain: Lallianzuala Chhangte
