Nine matches into the season, Delhi Dynamos FC are still on the lookout for their first victory of the ongoing fifth edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) and they will be hoping to finally notch up that elusive win when they host Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.
Delhi are currently rooted to the bottom of the ISL table with just four points and face an uphill task against a Mumbai side, which has gone unbeaten in their last four matches. The Islanders, too, will be looking for a win in order to strengthen their claim for a top-four spot.
The Dynamos have struggled this season and are enduring their worst start to an ISL campaign ever. Despite their performance levels improving in the last few outings, Josep Gombau's men have failed to convert them into wins. The team has had issues across the board. The forward line has been misfiring, the midfield has looked mediocre and the defence has been guilty of letting in too many soft goals, especially late ones. Eleven of the 14 goals conceded by Delhi so far have come in the second-half.
Perhaps, the only positive for the Delhi team this season has been Lallianzuala Chhangte. The young winger has been at the centre of everything good Delhi have managed to do going forward and is also the team's leading scorer with two goals. Chhangte will undoubtedly be the biggest threat for Mumbai on Monday.
After somewhat of an inconsistent start to their season, Mumbai have hit their stride of late, winning three and drawing one of their last four matches. Interestingly, the Islanders' unbeaten streak began with a 2-0 home win over Delhi back in October.
The most impressive part of Mumbai's four-match unbeaten streak has been their defensive record. The Mumbai defence, led by Lucian Goian and Subhasish Bose, has managed to keep clean sheets in each of these four matches and will look to continue the trend.
On the flipside, Mumbai have struggled going forward, scoring just seven goals in eight matches. The Islanders have been somewhat over-reliant on Modou Sougou and Arnold Issoko while going forward and have found it hard to break down the opposition defence whenever one of them fails to click.
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