ISL: Chennaiyin striker Sliskovic looks to carry forward his form against Mumbai City

Chennai, Dec 22 (IANS) Chennaiyin FC's in-form striker Petar Sliskovic is keen to get on the scoresheet when his side take on Mumbai City FC in the Hero Indian Super League 2022-23 away fixture in Mumbai on Saturday.

The Croatian forward has been in red-hot form, having scored five goals from 10 matches-jointly third highest in the on-going season. He has also contributed in three goals during his 808-minute stay on the pitch so far.

"If you are a striker and you score, it gives you confidence every time. I hope I can score against Mumbai City. I think we work very well in the front and need to work more in the defending. We have scored the second most goals in the league," Sliskovic commented while addressing the media in a pre-match press conference in Chennai on Thursday.

Abdenasser El Khayati is another player, who has contributed immensely in Chennaiyin's success this season. He is the leading goal-scorer in the season with seven goals. However, Chennaiyin will be missing the services of the Dutch star against Mumbai City after he ruled out with an injury.

Chennaiyin head coach Thomas Brdaric is aware of the loss but said his team will have to focus on the players who are fit.

"He (El Khayati) was in very good shape. But now we have to see how we can face Mumbai City with those players who are fit. I'm happy that (Anirudh) Thapa and Jiteshwor (Singh) are fit. They have invested a lot to bounce back into the squad. We have to look ahead and be confident that we can catch points in Mumbai," the 47-year-old German tactician said.

Mumbai City had beaten Chennaiyin during their first meeting of the season but the Marina Machans will be eager to make up for that loss this time around.

"We know about the strengths of Mumbai City; they are in the first position [on the points table]. They are favourites but we want to go there and take points. They use opportunities and exploit them very well. That's why we want to go there and try to break down what they do with their strengths.

"We have to be very careful. We have to face them very aggressively and not allow them to exploit opportunities. Our objective is to create chances. In the last match we came in position but unfortunately, we missed good opportunities. In football, if you take your chances and score, you're at an advantage."

Chennaiyin and Mumbai City are currently the top 2 most scoring teams of the season.