Perhaps a welcome break from league football as Cerezo Osaka & Albirex Niigata face off to decide who makes it to next stage of the Emperor Cup. All the pre-match information is available here!
We should expect both teams to be fresh and ready for this match, as there is some time since both teams last played. Let's have a look at how the teams are doing!
Cerezo Osaka form and stats
Action has already taken place for Cerezo Osaka in Emperor Cup as they have defeated Gainare Tottori to reach the 3rd Round. Last season their Emperor Cup adventure ended in the 4th round.Cerezo Osaka have collected 19 points from their J-League home games so far after 5-4-2. The trend of drawing games is also valid regardless of arena as Cerezo has four draws from their last four matches.
An away draw last time out for Cerezo, facing Sagan Tosu in a game that ended 3-3. The attacker Mutsuki Kato was "man of the match" for Cerezo Osaka with a rating of 8.24/10. Kato scored two goals and hit one key pass. There was plenty of action in the dying minutes of the game against Sagan Tosu as Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's goal in the 87th minute completed a cancellation of 0-2 and secured a draw after 90 minutes. As you can tell by the result above, the goals flowed freely in the previous game and the stadium rocked. Could there be another goal fest today?
In the match before that, Cerezo hosted Tokyo and drew the J-League game 3-3.Cerezo Osaka has scored 16 league goals at home this season, in 11 matches. Cerezo have conceded 12 in these home matches.
Albirex Niigata form and stats
The traveling awayteam has defeated Zweigen Kanazawa in order to reach 3rd round of Emperor Cup. Albirex's mission in Emperor Cup last season failed in the 2nd round.6-4-2 is the win-draw-loss statistic for Albirex Niigata in their J2-League matches away.
Albirex Niigata are the visiting side once again, their previous game being the 1-1 draw at Kyoto Sanga.
A home win before that, celebrating 3-0 vs Tochigi.The Albirex manager Albert Puig has got the team scoring on the road, with 25 away goals in 12 league matches. 16 goals have been conceded by Albirex Niigata in these games.
Head 2 Head
H2H stats regardless of arena (last ten matches): Cerezo five wins, one draw and Albirex Niigata four victories. As for goals, three matches ended with three or more goals (over 2,5), seven games had two or less.Top Goalscorers
  Y. Takagi 10 goals | K. Taniguchi 8 goals |  T. Sakamoto 5 goals |
Cerezo Osaka missing players
Albirex Niigata missing players
| Cerezo Osaka | Albirex Niigata | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 14 | Played | P | 13 | 25 | ||
| 10 | 7 | Won | W | 6 | 14 | ||
| 10 | 5 | Drew | D | 4 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Lost | L | 3 | 5 | ||
| 38 | 24 | Scored | S | 26 | 49 | ||
| 23 | 14 | Conceded | C | 19 | 24 | ||
| 92% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 92% | ||
| 68% | 79% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 100% | 76% | ||
| 40% | 50% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 69% | 56% | ||
| 20% | 21% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 54% | 40% | ||
| 16% | 14% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 23% | 20% | ||
| 52% | 64% | BTTS | BTTS | 77% | 52% | ||
| 36% | 36% | Clean Sheets | C S | 23% | 40% | ||
| 20% | 0% | Failed to Score | F T | 0% | 16% | ||
| 5.2 | 4.9 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 3.4 | 4.2 | ||
| 3.8 | 4 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 3.9 | 3.8 | ||
| 0.6 | 0.6 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 0.9 | 0.7 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 2 | ||
| 12.1 | 11.1 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 8.2 | 8.6 | ||
| 4.6 | 4.1 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 3.7 | 4.2 | ||
| 33% | 41% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 54% | 47% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Kawasaki Frontale | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 38 | 58 |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 39 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 23 | 46 |
| 3 | Vissel Kobe | 22 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 35 | 21 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 41 |
| 4 | Sagan Tosu | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 30 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 38 |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 37 |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 35 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 35 |
| 7 | Tokyo | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 30 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 35 |
| 8 | Urawa Reds | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 35 |
| 9 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 24 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 30 |
| 10 | Consadole Sapporo | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 26 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 29 |
| 11 | Avispa Fukuoka | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 29 |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 21 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 29 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 26 |
| 13 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 22 | 30 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 16 | -8 | 23 |
| 14 | Shonan Bellmare | 22 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 26 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 21 |
| 15 | Gamba Osaka | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | -7 | 20 |
| 16 | Kashiwa Reysol | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 22 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 14 | -10 | 20 |
| 17 | Tokushima Vortis | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 28 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 16 | -10 | 20 |
| 18 | Vegalta Sendai | 21 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 35 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 21 | -17 | 17 |
| 19 | Oita Trinita | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 32 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 20 | -18 | 16 |
| 20 | Yokohama | 22 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 51 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 31 | -37 | 11 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Kyoto Sanga | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 35 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 19 | 48 |
| 2 | Jubilo Iwata | 23 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 38 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 48 |
| 3 | Albirex Niigata | 23 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 44 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 16 | 24 | 45 |
| 4 | Ryukyu | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 44 |
| 5 | Ventforet Kofu | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 43 |
| 6 | Montedio Yamagata | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 42 |
| 7 | Machida Zelvia | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 41 |
| 8 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 40 |
| 9 | Tokyo Verdy | 23 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 33 | 36 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 20 | -3 | 35 |
| 10 | JEF United | 23 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 32 |
| 11 | Mito Hollyhock | 23 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 29 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 15 | 6 | 30 |
| 12 | Blaublitz Akita | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 23 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 15 | -1 | 29 |
| 13 | Fagiano Okayama | 23 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 22 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 10 | -3 | 26 |
| 14 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 23 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 15 | -5 | 26 |
| 15 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 25 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 14 | -7 | 26 |
| 16 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 37 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 20 | -19 | 22 |
| 17 | Tochigi | 23 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 18 | -9 | 21 |
| 18 | ThespaKusatsu Gunma | 23 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 35 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 21 | -15 | 21 |
| 19 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 35 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 18 | -18 | 19 |
| 20 | Ehime | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 41 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 18 | -19 | 19 |
| 21 | Omiya Ardija | 23 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 21 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -9 | 18 |
| 22 | Sagamihara | 23 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 13 | -18 | 16 |