Albirex Niigata will hope that their home comfort is enough to get some points from this difficult dispute, vs fiery Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
- Albirex Niigata have played more matches over 2,5 goals home than away.
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima have the fewest scored goals in the first half (4) in J-League
Sanfrecce Hiroshima have a very long trip to this away game, as there's more than 800 kilometers in distance to cover. This could prove a challenge, at least for the supporters.
There should be plenty of energy on the pitch in this game, as both sides have had time to recuperate from their last game. Let's hope both teams are ready to give it all.
Albirex Niigata form and stats
3-2-4 (win-draw-lost) are the J-League numbers at home for Albirex Niigata so far this season. When Albirex Niigata hosts teams that live on the top of the table (like Nagoya Grampus, Yokohama F. Marinos, Cerezo Osaka, Urawa Reds and Vissel Kobe), they have won 1 of 2 matches! The Albirex manager Matsuhashi might feel some added pressure to get something from this game after two straight home defeats.
The Albirex Niigata manager Matsuhashi and his pawns return home after a 0-0 draw away versus Kashiwa Reysol (placed 16th). The goalie Kojima was named most valuable player of the team in that game, scoring 8.31 out of ten. Kojima topped it up with a clean sheet.
Before that game, a defeat in the away fixture against Kashima Antlers in the Nabisco Cup.
The Albirex fans would probably like to see some more goals scored at their own stadium in the league, the tally being 11 in 9 matches. With more than 1,5 conceded goals on average, the Albirex Niigata defense is not exactly impregnable. 16 goals conceded from 9 games. You can find more goal stats on the Statistics tab above. When Albirex Niigata hosts teams that live on the top of the table (like Gamba Osaka, Yokohama, Kashiwa Reysol, Kyoto Sanga and Shonan Bellmare), the matches have ended over 2.5 goals 2 of 2 times.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima form and stats
The visitors are W4-D1-L4 on the road this term. That's in the J-League. Bitter travels for Sanfrecce as they have lost four games in a row away from home. The last time they avoided an away-from-home loss was the Cerezo Osaka match.
The attacking players of Sanfrecce Hiroshima have been feeble for some time now, the team not scoring a league goal in the last 180 minutes.
Sanfrecce's previous game was their home loss versus Yokohama F. Marinos (0-1).
A defeat, in the Nabisco Cup away at Nagoya Grampus, earlier.
The visiting Sanfrecce Hiroshima have scored more than one goal per away game in the league so far. The grand total is 11 goals from 9 games. Sanfrecce Hiroshima have conceded 10 goals in these away matches. It's worth mentioning that 5 of these goals has been conceded in their last three away matches.
Head 2 Head
These two sides played each other earlier on this campaign: Sanfrecce Hiroshima - Albirex Niigata 1-2. Head-to-head totals (for the former ten meetings): Albirex won one game, three matches ended with a draw and Sanfrecce Hiroshima have six wins. Over 2,5 goals / under 2,5 goals: two / eight.
Top Goalscorers
  D. da Silva Vieira 6 goals |  S. Ota 4 goals | K. Taniguchi 3 goals |
Albirex Niigata missing players
Sanfrecce Hiroshima missing players
| Albirex Niigata | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||||||
| Total | Home | vs | Statistics | Stat | vs | Away | Total |
| 18 | 9 | 2 | Played | P | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | Won | W | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 6 | 2 | 0 | Drew | D | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | 4 | 1 | Lost | L | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 19 | 11 | 3 | Scored | S | 5 | 11 | 22 |
| 28 | 16 | 4 | Conceded | C | 1 | 10 | 17 |
| 83% | 89% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 100% | 94% |
| 72% | 78% | 100% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 100% | 78% | 61% |
| 61% | 67% | 100% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 100% | 56% | 50% |
| 39% | 56% | 50% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 0% | 0% | 11% |
| 6% | 11% | 0% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 61% | 67% | 100% | BTTS | BTTS | 50% | 56% | 50% |
| 22% | 22% | 0% | Clean Sheets | C S | 50% | 22% | 33% |
| 33% | 22% | 0% | Failed to Score | F T | 0% | 22% | 22% |
| 4.9 | 5.7 | 4.5 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.6 |
| 5.2 | 5 | 6.5 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.4 |
| 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12.9 | 14.6 | 13 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 23.5 | 17.9 | 17.6 |
| 4.4 | 5.1 | 5.5 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 8.5 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| 24% | 24% | 27% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 29% | 21% | 21% |
| 12.1 | 12.8 | 19 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 9.5 | 9.8 | 8.7 |
| 4.3 | 3.9 | 6.5 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 4 | 4.2 | 3.4 |
- Albirex Niigata have played more matches over 2,5 goals home than away.
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima have played more matches over 2,5 goals away than home.
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima have the fewest scored goals in the first half (4) in J-League
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima haven’t played a single 0-0 game away.
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 39 |
| 2 | Nagoya Grampus | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 35 |
| 3 | Vissel Kobe | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 20 | 33 |
| 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 27 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 32 |
| 5 | Urawa Reds | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 30 |
| 6 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 17 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 29 |
| 7 | Kashima Antlers | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 28 |
| 8 | Sagan Tosu | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 26 |
| 9 | Consadole Sapporo | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 39 | 36 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 18 | 3 | 26 |
| 10 | Kawasaki Frontale | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 25 |
| 11 | Tokyo | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 18 | -4 | 22 |
| 12 | Avispa Fukuoka | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -5 | 20 |
| 13 | Kyoto Sanga | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 22 | 29 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 15 | -7 | 19 |
| 14 | Gamba Osaka | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 22 | -11 | 19 |
| 15 | Albirex Niigata | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | -9 | 18 |
| 16 | Kashiwa Reysol | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 28 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -12 | 13 |
| 17 | Yokohama | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 37 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 18 | -23 | 13 |
| 18 | Shonan Bellmare | 17 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 12 | -11 | 12 |
