Perhaps a welcome break from league football as Avispa Fukuoka & Albirex Niigata face off to decide who makes it to next stage of the J-League Cup. All the pre-match information is available here!
Everyone involved with the away team has to get their travel gear ready for this match as there's a whopping 1100 kilometers to cover before arriving at the match.
It's no vacation for neither Avispa Fukuoka nor Albirex Niigata as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Avispa Fukuoka form and stats
Fukuoka was eliminated in the semi-finals last season in the J-League Cup. Sanfrecce Hiroshima was too strong.Perfect J-League season at home so far for Avispa Fukuoka 2 wins from 2 appearances.
Avispa Fukuoka's last game was hosting Kashiwa Reysol and winning 1-0. Defender Grolli got the top score of the team in the match with a rating of 7.44/10. Grolli won 7 of 8 duels.
Ahead of that match, Avispa Fukuoka won a home game hosting Cerezo Osaka (2-1).The bookmakers consider this a fairly even contest. One could say only the home advantage separates the teams. It could be relevant to look at how Avispa Fukuoka have performed in matches similar to this (as small favourites). Our database has found 11 matches with the results: Won 7, drawn 2 and lost 2.
The manager Hasebe will start preparations for the next game as soon this is finished, as the hosts are going to Kashima Antlers in only four days.
It's still early days, but we have some goal stats for the Avispa Fukuoka at home in the league. 3 on target and 1 scored by the opposition; from 2 matches.
Albirex Niigata form and stats
Four points from two away games for Albirex Niigata, meaning one draw and one victory in the J-League so far.
Albirex's last game was the home draw against Consadole Sapporo (2-2). Midfield player Ito was the top player of the team with a match rating of 7.52/10. Ito scored one goal and hit five key passes.
Prior to that result Albirex Niigata won their away game at Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J-League. The scoreline was 2-1.As mentioned above, this is an open game with no clear favourite. We have found 7 similar matches played by Albirex Niigata in our archives, and the results are: 1 win for Albirex Niigata, 3 draws and 3 defeats.
A new game in only three days for Albirex Niigata, the J-League home match versus Kawasaki Frontale. Busy days.
Albirex Niigata have the goal stats of 4-3 (for/against) from 2 business trips in the league at this early stage of the season.
Head 2 Head
Statistics for the former ten meetings featuring these two teams are: five wins for Fukuoka, zero draws and five wins for Albirex Niigata. Over 2,5 goals: six times; under 2,5 goals: four games.
Top Goalscorers
  S. Ota 2 goals |  H. Mae 1 goals | L. Araújo de Almeida 1 goals |
Avispa Fukuoka missing players
Albirex Niigata missing players
| Avispa Fukuoka | Albirex Niigata | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 13 | 25 | ||
| 10 | 7 | Won | W | 8 | 15 | ||
| 5 | 0 | Drew | D | 3 | 5 | ||
| 10 | 6 | Lost | L | 2 | 5 | ||
| 27 | 18 | Scored | S | 23 | 45 | ||
| 30 | 18 | Conceded | C | 12 | 23 | ||
| 92% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 100% | ||
| 60% | 62% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 92% | 84% | ||
| 40% | 54% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 54% | 60% | ||
| 20% | 31% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 23% | 24% | ||
| 16% | 31% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 4% | ||
| 48% | 54% | BTTS | BTTS | 54% | 48% | ||
| 28% | 31% | Clean Sheets | C S | 31% | 40% | ||
| 32% | 15% | Failed to Score | F T | 15% | 12% | ||
| 4.1 | 4.7 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 4.2 | 4.8 | ||
| 4 | 4.6 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.6 | 4.2 | ||
| 1.6 | 1.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 0.8 | 0.8 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 0 | ||
| 9.2 | 10.2 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 10.6 | 11.6 | ||
| 3.3 | 3.8 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 4.6 | 4.8 | ||
| 32% | 36% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 38% | 38% | ||
| 10.7 | 9.4 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 10.1 | 8.6 | ||
| 3.8 | 3.6 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 3.7 | 3.2 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Vissel Kobe | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | Kashima Antlers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Avispa Fukuoka | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Shonan Bellmare | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| 7 | Albirex Niigata | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | Kawasaki Frontale | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Tokyo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Sagan Tosu | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 4 |
| 11 | Kyoto Sanga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3 |
| 12 | Urawa Reds | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| 13 | Kashiwa Reysol | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| 14 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| 15 | Consadole Sapporo | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 2 |
| 16 | Gamba Osaka | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 2 |
| 17 | Cerezo Osaka | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| 18 | Yokohama | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
