MUMBAI: It's been a slow start to the Indian Super League season for Mumbai City who are still looking for their first win, after a rousing 2-2 draw with Mohun Bagan on the opening day was followed by a 3-2 defeat at Jamshedpur. While Petr Kratky's side can finally look forward to playing their first home fixture of the new campaign, they could hardly have run into a tougher hurdle at the moment than the one they will face at the Mumbai Football Arena on Wednesday.
With three wins from their opening three games and not conceding a goal in any of them, Bengaluru FC, are, by Kratky's own admission "the best team in the league at the moment".
The Blues, who top the standings, arrive here having made an early statement of sorts, beating the reigning champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant 3-0 at the weekend. That came after wins over East Bengal and Hyderabad. Kratky did point out that, unlike his side, Bengaluru haven't played away so far, but the Czech coach appeared to agree that Gerard Zaragoza's side could very well be one of the protagonists this season.
"I saw their three games, they were the best team on the park," Kratky said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "They win with three clean sheets as well so for me, they are the best team in the league at the moment. But playing three home games may also have been a bit of an advantage. We played two games away, so we have to consider all these small factors. But respect to them, they played very well, they have all phases very well covered, so now it's up to us to step up our game and be really diligent with what we do.
"I believe in our team, but it will be tough, we will have to dig deep from the first minute."
Bengaluru have already hit the back of the net seven times from their three matches and, led by the ISL's new all-time leading goals corer Sunil Chhetri, will fancy adding to their tally against a Mumbai defence that hasn't exactly been watertight so far. In the 10 days that have passed since the Islanders lost to Jamshedpur, Krakty said tightening things at the back is what his side have worked on the most.
"That's obvious when you concede five goals in two games, then that is an area where we need to improve. We tirelessly worked on it during this period of time after the two games," he said.
Wednesday's fixture will see the return of some familiar faces in defender Rahul Bheke, Argentinean striker Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera, who were all part of Mumbai's ISL Shield and Cup successes over the past two seasons before moving to Bengaluru during the transfer window.
Being a public holiday, tickets have also sold out, and Kratky believes both sides have enough quality to make it an absorbing watch for the fans. "It will be a very tough game, I think it will be very good to watch because both teams will try to play football," he said.
