Chennaiyin FC to face Mumbai City in ISL's 1000th League game

Chennaiyin FC will look to carry over the impressive away form that served them so well from last season into their first home win as they take on Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday. The fixture is also a milestone for it being the 1000th game in the Indian Super League (ISL), adding to the home fan's expectations.

The Marina Machans entertain a side that sits one place below them in the table, and the visitors go into this game unbeaten in their last four league games, winning two and drawing two. A win would see CFC remain second at the table going into the international break, and hence, this game promises to be an unforgettable occasion for Chennaiyin supporters.

Indeed, this point was termed by head coach Owen Coyle at his Friday pre-match press conference.

Tomorrow is a landmark game, the 1000th game in the Indian Super League; what a fantastic achievement for the league, seeing how it's progressed, developed and given young Indian players an opportunity. We're proud to be part of it, representing Chennaiyin against a very good team in Mumbai and we have to ensure we are at our best. We are looking forward to it, said Coyle.

With 11 points from seven matches this season, the Marina Machans have gathered their best tally ever after these many games in seven seasons. Their earlier best was the 13 points they had managed to garner in the same matches in the 2017-18 season of the competition. The Marina Machans had gone on to become the ISL champions that season. 

In five of their seven opening league games, the CFC have traveled and gained three victories and two draws. Coyle commented on this by talking about how they plan to get all the points in the season.

"Moderately speaking, we have done well away because we have had five away games. We have only had two at home! We could easily have won the first game against Mohammedan and played very well against a strong FC Goa side. What we need to do is continue playing to our potential," Coyle added.

Mumbai City FC's frontline presents their A-game on the road, scoring in their 11 successive away matches. They have scored multiple times in nine of those matches and in the last five of them consecutively. The Islanders are the only side that has scored 2+ times in more consecutive away matches in the ISL, from February 2020 to January 2023. So, the Chennaiyin FC defense that has already let in 11 so far will be on the lookout for this.

Saturday's encounter will be the 21st ISL match between Chennaiyin and Mumbai, for whom CFC seek a seventh win in the game. Mumbai City have won eleven games, while three matches ended in draws.