Mohun Bagan FC vs Mumbai City Prediction: These met in finals

Mohun Bagan FC will go up against Mumbai City on the first match day of the Indian Super League in the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata. Their teams faced each other in the finals last year. Now, who will be the winners after 90 minutes?

Mohun Bagan, although winning the League Shield in the regular season last year with a comprehensive win over Mumbai City in their final league match, messed up in the final, losing 3-1. This recent history gives Mumbai City a psychological edge, having won seven out of their ten ISL encounters against Bagan, with two draws and just one defeat.

The Mariners have been busy in the off-season building their squad - adding Lalengmawia Ralte from Mumbai City to reinforce an already good midfield core. With attacking firepower that includes Jason Cummings, Greg Stewart, Dimitri Petratos, and Jamie Maclaren, Bagan appears set for an aggressive start to the new season as they seek to overturn their fortunes against Mumbai City and start with a bang.

Vishal Kaith; Pritam Kotal, Florentin Pogba, Sumit Rathi; Lenny Rodrigues, Hugo Boumous, Carl McHugh, Joni Kauko; Kiyan Nassiri, Liston Colaco, Ashique Kuruniyan

Being defending champions, Mumbai City haven't allowed their guard to drop as they too roped in some essential reinforcements to stay competitive. The former La Masia graduate in Jon Toral also put pen to paper as he came with loads of top-flight experience from his stints in Spain, Greece, and Scotland. The Islanders signed Brandon Fernandes on a free transfer from FC Goa as a replacement for Lalengmawia Ralte, who joined Mohun Bagan, to add some creative flair to the middle of the park. With such strategic inclusions, Mumbai City would want to keep the winning momentum going and build a strong title defense this season.

Mohammed Nawaz; Amey Ranawade, Rahul Bheke, Rostyn Griffiths, Mandar Rao Desai; Apuia Ralte, Ahmed Jahouh; Lallianzuala Chhangte, Greg Stewart, Vikram Pratap Singh; Jorge Pereyra Diaz

The curtain raiser for the season couldn't get bigger, with two of the powerhouses of the ISL in Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City going head-to-head right from the word 'go'. The two teams have been the dominant forces in the league in recent times, sharing the League Shield and the Cup between them in the last two seasons, and they look very likely to be serious contenders once again. Both sides have strengthened considerably during the summer, adding important players to their rosters while building strong teams on paper. With both sides possessing highly-capable attacking talents, this game has all the makings of an absolute end-to-end thriller, replete with goals. Considering the attacking clout coming up against each other in this fixture, our prediction is Over 2.5 Goals in the Mohun Bagan vs Mumbai City encounter.