National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Kashima Antlers or Avispa Fukuoka that keep their silverware dream alive.
It's quite the trip for Avispa Fukuoka when visiting Kashima Antlers as the cities are 1100 kilometers apart.
There’s little time for restitution or working hard at the training pitch these days, with both teams having played their last game less than four days ago.
Kashima Antlers form and stats
Last season their J-League Cup adventure ended in the play-offs against Avispa Fukuoka.Kashima Antlers have played three J-League home games so far, perhaps enough to set expectations for the season. In that case, only 1 point from these matches could be a signal of rough times ahead.
Kashima's previous game was also a home match, the defeat 1-2 versus Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Midfielder Higuchi was the best player on the team with a rating of 7.85 (out of ten) in that game. Higuchi served one assist and hit two key passes.
Before that, a loss in the away fixture against Albirex Niigata in the J-League Cup. The home team are moderate favourites in this game. How does Kashima Antlers handle that role? We have found 14 games in our database similar to this one, based on the home odds. The stats for these games are 7 wins, 5 draws and 2 defeats.
There will be little rest for Kashima after this match as they are travelling to Kashiwa Reysol for a J-League game in only four days.
The goals haven't exactly been flowing for Kashima Antlers here at Kashima Soccer Stadium in the league, with less than one goal per game on average (2 from 3 games). Kashima Antlers have conceded 4 in these home matches.
Avispa Fukuoka form and stats
Avispa Fukuoka was sent out of J-League Cup in the semi-finals last season, when Sanfrecce Hiroshima turned out to be too strong.The J-League season is young and Avispa Fukuoka have only just started going through their travel schedule, with 3 away games done and still no victory. 2 draws and 1 defeat so far.
Fukuoka has to pack their bags again for the second away game in a row. Last time they traveled to Yokohama for a 1-1 draw. Which player has scored three games in a row for the away team? The answer is Yamagishi and that is solid stuff! The attacker Yamagishi got a match rating of 7.24 in that game. Yamagishi scored one goal, hit one key pass, dribled past the opponent 1 of 1 times and had 19 successful passes (of 23 total).
One match before, 3-3 at home vs Kashiwa Reysol in the J-League Cup. Avispa Fukuoka are the outsiders in this one, but not by much. Their performance in similar games (being the away team and moderate outsiders) is 1 win, 4 draws and 6 defeats. From a total of 11 matches.
A new game in only four days for Avispa Fukuoka, the J-League home match versus Kyoto Sanga. Busy days.
Goals are few and far between in Fukuoka's away league games. Only {1 goals} from 3 travels. They concede less than a goal on average per away game (2 so far).
Head 2 Head
Last ten meetings with these sides: Kashima Antlers won five, Avispa Fukuoka triumphed in three and we saw two draws. four games with over 2,5 goals, six matches with two goals or less.
Top Goalscorers
  K. Chinen 3 goals |  Y. Yamagishi 3 goals | Y. Suzuki 2 goals |
Kashima Antlers missing players
Avispa Fukuoka missing players
| Kashima Antlers | Avispa Fukuoka | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 10 | Played | P | 11 | 25 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Won | W | 2 | 9 | ||
| 10 | 4 | Drew | D | 5 | 6 | ||
| 9 | 4 | Lost | L | 4 | 10 | ||
| 25 | 9 | Scored | S | 7 | 28 | ||
| 26 | 10 | Conceded | C | 11 | 33 | ||
| 88% | 80% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 82% | 92% | ||
| 68% | 70% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 64% | 64% | ||
| 28% | 30% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 18% | 44% | ||
| 12% | 10% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 0% | 20% | ||
| 4% | 0% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 20% | ||
| 48% | 40% | BTTS | BTTS | 45% | 56% | ||
| 32% | 40% | Clean Sheets | C S | 18% | 20% | ||
| 32% | 40% | Failed to Score | F T | 55% | 32% | ||
| 4.6 | 3.3 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 2.8 | 3.8 | ||
| 4.2 | 3.9 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 3.3 | 3.9 | ||
| 1.5 | 1.3 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 2.1 | 1.8 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 2 | ||
| 11 | 12.6 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 8 | 9.7 | ||
| 3.6 | 3.7 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 2.9 | 3.6 | ||
| 29% | 24% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 24% | 31% | ||
| 10.5 | 9.4 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 12.8 | 11 | ||
| 3 | 2.2 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 4.4 | 4.1 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Avispa Fukuoka | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Kashiwa Reysol | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 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 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 15 |
| 2 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | Urawa Reds | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 5 | Avispa Fukuoka | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 6 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| 7 | Kyoto Sanga | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 8 | Shonan Bellmare | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Tokyo | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 10 | Cerezo Osaka | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 | Kawasaki Frontale | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 12 | Albirex Niigata | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | -1 | 8 |
| 13 | Kashima Antlers | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 14 | Sagan Tosu | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 7 |
| 15 | Consadole Sapporo | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -1 | 6 |
| 16 | Gamba Osaka | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | -8 | 3 |
| 17 | Yokohama | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -8 | 2 |
| 18 | Kashiwa Reysol | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -8 | 2 |
