Strugglers Mumbai City and Kerala Blasters face each other in match 47 of the Hero Indian Super League on Thursday.
Seventh placed Mumbai City FC host eight placed Kerala Blasters in a bottom of the table encounter in the Hero Indian Super League on Thursday, as both teams look to keep their chances alive for a spot in the semi-finals with a win over their opponent.
Both Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters still have a mathematical possibility to qualify for the semis, but will now have to depend upon others to if they are to qualify for the next stage and Mumbai City FC manager Nicolas Anelka looks to resurrect his teama s fortune with a victory over Kerala Blasters.
a Ita s a very hard situation. We were expecting to be among the last teams (but) now its very very hard to reach our target. We are still hoping as mathematically we still have a chance. We have to win all three games, so we start with Kerala.
a Once we take the three points from Kerala, we can think about Chennai (our next opponents). We have to take it game by game and stay focused.a
Anelka also admitted that his introduction into the starting line-up caused friction when his team were winning matches and will now look to concentrate only on coaching.
“If you look at the situations a when I’ve played and not played, we’ve been better when I’ve not played a so I may put myself on the bench. I will be trying to concentrate on coaching
.
Blasters look to play spoilsport
Kerala Blasters coach Terry Phelan, who took up the reins mid season, isna t willing to draw the line for the season.
a We are both in a desperate situation. It will be a nerve-racking. We have to only worry about ourselves. If we can play to our expectations, we can beat anybody on a given day,a said Phelan.
Kerala Blastersa s dire situation wona t change much with a victory, but would hamper the Islandera s chances for a spot in the semi-finals and Phelan is inspired to do just that.
a We have to go out and perform to the best of our abilities. We have to roll our sleeves and take one game at a time. If we can try and get a result here, it will give us a lot of confidence going into the next game at home,a said Phelan.