After suffering a humiliating 0-4 loss to Mohun Bagan Super Giant in their debut AFC Cup group league match at home last week, Odisha FC returned stronger in their Indian Super League (ISL) opener against Chennaiyin FC to register a 2-0 win.
The only winning team in the first matchweek to keep a clean slate, the Juggernauts would now look to extend their winning start to ISL 10 campaign when they face defending Shield Winners Mumbai City FC (MCFC) at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
And mentoring Kalinga Warriors for back-to-back wins will be former Mumbai City coach Sergio Lobera, the only gaffer to do the historic double with the Islanders in 2020-21 season when MCFC won both the league winner’s shield and ISL trophy.
Up against his former side, the Spaniard knows that it won’t be easy to notch a victory against the Des Buckingham-coached side, which also started off their league campaign with a 2-1 away win over NorthEast United FC, after going down to Nassaji Mazandaran in their AFC Champions League opener last week.
“Obviously, we have started the season well against Chennai – a very good team. We need to put our focus in the next game against a very good, strong team. We are excited about this. This is the second game at home in front of our supporters. It’s a special game for me because I was there, I was working at Mumbai City – it was an amazing experience for me,” Lobera said about taking on the Islanders, during the pre-match press conference in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
“It’s a special game for me because I want to win with Odisha. We are working very hard to prepare in the best way possible for this game and we are excited about this big challenge.”
Elaborating on the tough challenge, he added, “In their (MCFC) current style of play, they are displaying a significant emphasis on offensive tactics. However, we remain resolute and steadfast.”
Buckingham, too, sounded confident ahead of taking on the Kalinga Warriors and stressed on collecting as many points as possible on the road before heading home for the third game against Kerala Blasters on October 8. In between they play Navbahor away in ACL.
“We have just come on the back of the first game of ISL against a very good NorthEast team. It’s about continuing the good work that we have done from the start of the pre-season building up from last year. It’s a game that we are looking forward to against a very good and tough Odisha team. We have done as much as we can to be prepared for it,” Buckingham said ahead of the game.
Asked if he has something special lined up, the Englishman replied, “We have managed to be here for two days and we trained again today (Wednesday). So, it’s about making sure that we feel just fresh and fit as a team and play the football that we want. We won’t change too much on what we have done.”
In addition to both sides missing the India players at Asian Games, Mehtab Singh is a doubtful starter for Mumbai City as the defender is nursing an injury suffered during the NorthEast match when he got kicked in the head.
