Mumbai City face tall order against Atletico de Kolkata

Mumbai, Dec 6 (IANS) Bottom-placed Mumbai City FC, beleaguered by three successive defeats, face a tall task of a turnaround when they entertain Atletico de Kolkata in an Indian Super League (ISL) match here Sunday.

The Mumbai franchise, despite boasting the likes of football legends Nicolas Anelka and Frederik Ljungberg has managed just 12 points from as many matches and are virtually out of reckoning for a semi-final berth.

They need to win all their remaining four matches and also hope that results of other matches go their way to have any chance for an unlikely qualification.

Their coach Peter Reid have plenty of problems to deal with, having conceded 9 goals in its last three losses. They are also severely depleted with key players missing out due to injuries. Star marksman Anelka have skipped the last three marches with a groin complaint and remains doubtful for this crucial match.

To make matters worse, Anelka's scoring partner Brazilian Andre Moritz sustained a hamstring injury against Chennaiyin FC in their last home game and is struggling to be fit for the match.

Marquee player Ljungberg has been the tem's biggest disappointment in their inaugural season campaign with the Swedish forward looking visibly unfit, picking up niggling injuries to be out of action for the better part of the tournament.

Without these foreign imports, Mumbai had to rely on home-grown strikers Subash Singh and Abhishek Yadav and they have lived up to their reputation of of goal squanderers rather than scorers. Their defence has also been shaky, allowing 19 goals against just nine scored.

Their opponents, one of the better sides in the tournament, need a win to secure entry into the last four stage.

They lead the points table in the initial stages of the competition but just a win from their last eight matches have moved them down to the third spot with 18 point from 12 matches.

Atletico's loss of form has been blamed on a reported fall-out between their star man Luis Garcia coach Antonio Habas. 

The Kolkata team will be without Spanish midfielder Jofre Mateu Gonzalez (ligament injury) but Habas expressed confidence that his team has the resources to overcome these minor obstacles.