Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of this evening’s Hyderabad FC vs Mumbai City FC Indian Super League (ISL 2021-22) clash being played at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa. This is Aneesh Dey bringing you all the pre-match buildup and live updates from this high-tension clash.

55′ MCFC Subs: IN: Bradden Inman, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy and Diego Mauricio OUT: Vinit Rai, Mandar Dessai and Igor Angulo

54′ Bipin does well to get past Chinglesana on the left flank but ultimately falls victim to his own pace as he cannot keep the ball in play. A goalkick to Hyderabad.

50′ Hyderabad looking so comfortable on the ball right now. Mumbai players are trying to press but it is not working.

47′ Angulo swings a good ball inside the box from the a corner. Fall gets his head to it but cannot make a decent contact with it.

We are back for the second half!

Mumbai City FC’s chance for booking a semis berth is getting bleaker by the second as the Islanders find themselves down by two goals at the break.

Hyderabad FC, which has defended well, has shown equal efficiency in attacking as goals by Rohit Danu and Joel Chianese keep the Nizams ahead at the break.

Half-time! (Hyderabad FC 2-0 Mumbai City)

45+1′ Hyderabad’s defence has performed exceptionally well till now. Mumbai has tried to counter on a couple of occasions but has been thwarted by the compact defence of Manolo Marquez’s men.

Three added minutes!

41′ GOOOALL!! HYDERABAD GETS IT SECOND!! IT IS JOEL CHIANESE!! Yasir finds Chianese with an accurate aerial through ball. Chianese does well to keep the ball in control depsite being under pressure from  Mehtab. Phurba came off his line to narrow the angle but Chianese slots the ball inside the net with ease.

40′ Sauvik finds Chianese with a good pass on the right flank but the latter was offside.

37′ Shot- This time Vikram who tries his luck from distance. He keeps his shot on target but Kattimani does well to catch the ball.

36′ Shot- Amey’s shot from a tight angle hits the side-netting. The shot had sting but was not on target. 

32′ Shot- Yasir’s shot at Phurba’s near post takes a deflection, which makes it easier for the Mumbai keeper to gather the ball. Yasir did well to get his shot away despite being under pressure from his marker.

Drinks break!

30′ Chianese’s delivery inside the Mumbai box from a HFC freekick is cleared by Mourtada Fall.

28′ Cassio takes a tumble and loses the ball in a dangerous position. Sauvik pounces the loose ball and shoots at goal but it does not bother Phurba. It is an easy take for the keeper.

26′ Mumbai was stringing together a good move but it ended with Amey putting too much weight on his pass to Vikram on the right. The Islanders lose possession.

22′ Bipin does well to jostle Poojary for the ball. Once he does, he whips in a good ball inside the box, which Cassio meets with his head. However, Cassio cannot keep his effort on target.

20′ Juanan with a brilliant challenge on Angulo inside the HFC box to prevent the latter from getting the ball. It was a good cross by Bipin from the left but good Juanan showing his experience to anticipate the danger.

18′ Cassio’s pings a ball inside the box-Both Siverio and Fall go for the header, which leads to a clash of heads. HFC gets the foul.

14′ GOOOALLL!! HYDERABAD SCORES!! ITS ROHIT DANU!! A melee inside the box leads to the ball falling to Danu who was free at the far post. Once he got the ball, he wasn’t missing from there. 

13′ Chianese’s cross from a HFC freekick is cleared well by Angulo.

12′ Cassio sends a good ball inside the box from a corner but it goes straight to Kattimani. No Mumbai player made an effort to get across and make contact.

7′ Bipin whips a cross inside the box from the left. Vikram goes for the header but misses the ball as it goes out for a HFC throw-in.

5′ Rohit Danu’s cross from the left takes a deflection and goes straight to Phurba, who takes it without fuss.

3′ Shot- Early pressure from Hyderabad. Camara takes a shot at goal but it is a weak one. Phurba collects the ball easily.

1′ Kickoff!

9-30 pm: And we are underway!

9-18 pm: From the coach’s mouth!

Des Buckingham on Hyderabad FC: “We played Hyderabad in the second game of the season, and in the first half of the season, they were certainly one of the best teams that we played. They were very well organised, they’re very clear on what they’re doing with and without the ball, and again they’ve got a coach that’s been with them for a period of time which I think has helped them.”

9-00 pm: STAT!

Hyderabad FC has not lost a single game this season after scoring the first goal of the match. Mumbai City FC, meanwhile, has never won a match after conceding first this season.

8-35 pm: Starting Lineups are out!

Hyderabad FC: Kattimani(GK); Dorjee, Chinglesana, Juanan(C); Sauvik, Yasir, Khassa, Nikhil; Chianese, Siverio, Danu.

Subs: Mishra, Amritpal; Joao, Sahil; Narzary, Abdul.

Coach: Manolo Marquez.

Mumbai City FC: Phurba(GK); Mehtab, Fall(C), Amey, Mandar; Vinit, Apuia, Cassio; Angulo, Vikram, Bipin.

Subs: Nawaz(GK); Rakip, Vignesh, Hmingthanmawia, Inman, Raynier; Gurkirat, Pranjal, Mauricio.

Coach: Des Buckingham.

8-17 pm: When both teams met earlier in the season!

READ: ISL 2021-2022 HIGHLIGHTS: Hyderabad FC secures a 3-1 win in its first ever victory over Mumbai City FC

8-00 pm: Our predicted xi for tonight’s match!

Hyderabad FC Predicted XI: Gurmeet Singh (GK), Chinglensana Singh, Akash Mishra, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Nikhil Poojary (C), Aniket Jadhav, Khassa Camara, Yasir Mohammad, Abdul Anjukandan, Javier Siverio, Joel Chianese.

Mumbai City FC Predicted XI: Mohamad Nawaz (GK), Mehtab Singh, Amey Ranawde, Mourtada Fall (C), Mandar Dessai, Bradden Inman, Cassio Gabriel, Bipin Singh, Vinit Rai, Lalengmawia, Igor Angulo.

7-45 pm: Head-to-head record of both teams!

Hyderabad FC and Mumbai City FC have faced each other on five occasions, out of which MCFC has won two, HFC has won one and the other two have ended in draws.

MATCH PREVIEW

Hyderabad FC and Mumbai City FC will lock horns in a tale of two fates in one of the last league games of the Indian Super League (ISL) this season.

Manolo Marquez’s side has been in brilliant form in its run-up to the semifinal, becoming the first team to break into the semis, with the best performance by the Nizams in its brief history so far.

Hyderabad FC sits third on the table with 35 points from 19 matches and a win here would take it second in the table.

READ: ISL 2021-22: Jamshedpur goes clear at the top after 5-1 thumping of Odisha; inches closer to League Shield

Mumbai City FC, on the other hand, suffered a disappointing loss to Kerala Blasters, which pushed it out of the top four and will look forward to two things – a win against Hyderabad FC and hope Blasters lose its last game.

Des Buckingham’s boys have struggled with their key striker Igor Angulo missing his shooting boots and will hope the Spaniard finds the net before it is too late.

Diego Mauricio, who has three goals in the last four matches will not be starting, as confirmed by Des ahead of the match.

READ | Hyderabad FC co-owner Varun Tripurareni says team balance key to stellar performance

“Diego is just not match fit to play the 90 minutes,” Des told the press, “there would be nothing more I would really enjoy than to pair Diego with Igor, but we have been trying to increase his game time over a couple of weeks.”

The other lynchpin in its attack and the architect of set pieces, Ahmed Jahouh will likely be available for selection.

“We will see how he comes through today’s training… He’s got a small sprain on the inside of his knee. So, if he comes through today’s session okay and has no reaction on his knee, he’s in contention to be part of the squad tomorrow,” Des added.

READ: Leadership role has helped me grow, says Chennaiyin FC captain Anirudh Thapa

MCFC will also miss the services of defender Rahul Bheke and winger Lallianzuala Chhangte, both of whom are suspended, following their yellow cards in the previous match.

Where can you watch the match?

The Hyderabad FC vs Mumbai City FC match will start at 9-30pm and will be telecast live on the Star Network (SD and HD). It will also be live streamed in the OTT Platform, Disney+Hotstar and JioTV.