Bambolim (Goa): Mumbai City FC would look to continue their winning momentum and jump to the top of the Indian Super League standings when they take on Kerala Blasters here on Saturday.
After losing to NorthEast United in their opening match in November, Mumbai City have been on a six-match unbeaten streak, with victories on five occasions. They cuurently occupy the second spot with 16 points from seven matches, one point less than table toppers ATK Mohun Bagan.
Head coach Sergio Lobera, however, said the 12-day break was not ideal.
“Two-week break is a long time without competition games. To analyse this situation, when you are in good momentum it's not good to stop. It’s better to continue playing. But on the other hand, it's good to have more time to spend in the training session,” expressed Lobera whose side are currently second with 16 points from seven games and a win against Blasters will help them reclaim the top spot from ATK MB.
"It's difficult but at the same time it's easy because we have good players,” stated Lobera and added, “But given a choice, I wouldn't prefer to take a long break and then play two games in three days.”
Lobera is unbeaten against Blasters in the last six encounters having won five and drew one. But that was a different story. On Saturday, it would be a battle of two teams having similar style of play.
“It's going to be difficult as they have a very good team and a great coach and they try to play in a similar style of play to that of us,” said Lobera.
“As a coach, if you want to win, you need to work on balance,” added Lobera whose side has conceded just three goals and scored as many as 11 maintaining a perfect balance in the team.
Lobera revealed that Hugo Boumous is fit and there are no injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s clash.
Meanwhile, Blasters, who have significantly improved in their last three games having scored five goals and average almost 12 shots per match. And coach Kibu Vicuna will look to break the club’s jinx against Lobera.
“They are a good team with very good players. They are playing well and are one of the best teams in ISL. We are improving in the training sessions and are happy with the way we are training,” Vicuna said.
