M umbai in sight of more league records, face Jamshedpur

Fromthetrio, Tadhg O’shea has opt ed t o partner seasonal debutant Lawof Peace for Secret Ambit ion’s owner Naser Askar and seeking a third consecutive vict or y

chances this year, Salem Bin G hadayer saddling a pair of UAE debutants in the shape of Ever Given, the choice of Mickael Barzalona, and Mister Saint Paul.

The fixture also includes two Listed races on turf, the 1800m Jumeirah Classic for 3yos and the 1200m Dubai Sprint, Godolphin’s Man Of Promise seeking to complete a hat-trick in the later for Charlie Appleby and William Buick.

Runner-up, behind stable companion L azuli, in his 1000m return three weeks ago, this extra 200m is more to his liking and he has a high draw, normally favoured on the straight sprint track.

Appleby said: “He has definitely improved having had that run and is well drawn in 14. Returning to 1200m will play to his strengths and I feel he is the one they all have to beat.”

Appleby runs dual Listed winner Naval Power, sixth in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes last time out, as well as Highbank, third to the re-opposing Long Kiss in the trial for this race three weeks’ ago, and One Nation.

“Naval Power showed a progressive profile as a two-year-old before disappointing in the Dewhurst Stakes, when he produced an unsatisfactory scope aterwards,” said Appleby.

“I have been pleased with his preparation but there will be improvement to come for the run. We are looking at potentially giving him one start in Dubai before looking at some of the Classic trials in the UK.”

Jamshedpur:mumbai City FC have a chance to set a new Indian Super League (ISL) record by going 16 games unbeaten, and are also two goals away from having the highest league stage goals tally, if they manage to keep their prolific streak intact when they take on Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Friday.

A win for the Islanders will take them seven points clear of Hyderabad FC, who are not playing this week. As for the Red Miners, they have a chance to become the only team to remain unbeaten against Mumbai City FC in this season.

With a tally of nine points and five games to go, the primary aim for Jamshedpur FC will be to finish as high as they possibly can. The Red Miners could have been level on points with East Bengal FC at this point, but they went down 3-0 against Bengaluru FC last week.

Goal scoring has not been easy for Aidy Boothroyd’s men. However, last week was the first time in five games that Jamshedpur FC fired a blank. Over the last few weeks, the Red Miners have scored not more than two goals per match, ended their winless streak, and only picked up a few points in the process.

Daniel Chukwu has only scored once ater finding the back of the net against Mumbai City FC in the reverse fixture three months ago. The Nigerian is likely to start the game against the Islanders, but Ishan Pandita and Harry Sawyer will also be in contention.

“Jamshedpur FC, ATK [Mohun Bagan], and Hyderabad FC are the only teams to get a point against Mumbai. It’s a very difficult game against a well-coached team. It will be a difficult game for us,” said Boothroyd.

“We all love football, but games don’t always go to the team that is in good form. We have a lot of respect for the opponent, but we want to try and win every single game that we play,” he added.

Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham has already made trips to G uwahati and Kolkata to study his previous two opponents, and will likely have another strong plan for his next fixture.

Buckingham’s unbeaten Mumbai City FC have operated like a well-oiled machine so far. Greg Stewart assisted Lallianzuala Chhangte’s opener in the reverse fixture. The Scotsman will be looking to add more goal contributions to his tally when he faces his former club.

“The last time we played them, we dropped two points against them at home. They are a good team playing under a good coach in Aidy. We have watched their recent games and are expecting a tough challenge,” said Buckingham.