Chennaiyin FC, Mumbai City FC clash in ISL's 1000th game

Chennai: Former champions Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC will square off in the Indian Super League's landmark 1000th game here on Saturday.

Until now, 2791 goals have been scored as the league saw 10 finals, six different playoff winners, and four separate league shield victors.

The foundation for this competition was laid with erstwhile ATK's 3-0 win against Mumbai City FC on October 12, 2014, in the first-ever ISL match.

With 11 points from seven matches this season, the Marina Machans have accumulated their highest-ever tally after these many games in seven seasons. Their previous-best was the 13 points they had garnered in the same number of outings in the 2017-18 season of the competition.

The Marina Machans had emerged as the ISL champions that season.

However, Chennaiyin FC have repeatedly been unable to present their best game in their fixtures against Mumbai City FC. They have lost their last six games against the Islanders.

Mumbai City FC's frontline presents their A-game on the road, scoring in their 11 consecutive away matches. They have netted multiple times in nine of those games, and in the previous five of them on the bounce.

The only side to score 2+ times in more successive away games in the ISL are the Islanders themselves (7 consecutive away games between February 2020 and January 2023). The Chennaiyin FC defence that has conceded 11 strikes so far will have to be wary of this.

Offensive Firepower ============ Chennaiyin FC have averaged 11.1 shots from inside the box per game in ISL 2024-25, as they are the only team to record over 10 such shots in every match.

The Marina Machans have accumulated 78 shots from inside the 18-yard box, converting 15 of them into goals – being the third highest scorers this season.

"This is such an emotional game," said Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle on the eve of the milestone match.

"(Past record) counts for nothing when the game starts. These are two very good teams going all out to win a tough game. This is such an emotional game, this is football, you’re going to win, lose, draw matches, and as coaches we are here to give balance to it," he said.

Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky acknowledged the growing competitiveness in the ISL, and said that he was satisfied with the progress his team has made so far.

"It's not easy to play the game the way we want to play it. Teams in the ISL are getting better every year, every week. We have new players and new staff too. But I'm very happy with the progression we've shown so far," he said. PTI AH AH ATK ATK