National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Consadole Sapporo or Kashima Antlers that keep their silverware dream alive.
It’s busy days for these teams as both were in action only a few days ago. There’s no rest for the wicked, or in this case; no rest for Consadole Sapporo and Kashima Antlers.
It's quite the trip for Kashima Antlers when visiting Consadole Sapporo as the cities are 1000 kilometers apart.
Consadole Sapporo form and stats
Consadole Sapporo participated in Ybc Levain Cup the last season, where they reached the quarter-finals.2 victories, 1 draw and 2 defeats. That’s what Consadole Sapporo have to build on here at Sapporo Dome in the J-League. This match is a Ybc Levain Cup match, and the hometeam has the total statistics 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in this competition.
Consadole Sapporo are hoping to put things right at home after a defeat in their previous match, the score 0-2 away versus Kawasaki Frontale. Shunta Tanaka, defender, was given a rating of 7.35/10 in that game, top of the team. Tanaka won 8 of 11 duels.
A strong away win before that one, visiting Tokushima Vortis and winning 2-1.There's a new fixture coming up fairly quickly for Consadole, as the J-League home game vs Shimizu S-Pulse is only three days away.
Goals are plentiful at Sapporo Dome in the league this season as Consadole has scored 13 goals here in 5 home games. Goals are flowing in at the wrong end for Consadole with 11 goals conceded in these matches.
Kashima Antlers form and stats
Kashima was sent out of Ybc Levain Cup in the group stage last season.As the visiting team in J-League matches, Kashima Antlers have produced an overall stat of 3-1-2 so far. When we have look at the Ybc Levain Cup statistics, we find 3W-2D-0L. This is both home and away. The fact that Kashima have won four matches in a row should scare the hosts and makes this contest more interesting.
Kashima had fun at their own home (Sapporo Dome) last time out, beating Yokohama F. Marinos 5-3. Ayase Ueda, Ryotaro Araki and Shoma Doi (3) scored. Attacker Shoma Doi got a player rating of 9.32 in the game. "Man of the match" Doi scored three goals. A crazy, crazy match with lots of goals last time out for Kashima, as mentioned above. 8 goals in that one, will this match be as much fun? It's hard not to mention Shoma Doi's lethal finishing against Yokohama F. Marinos. three goals were a big reason for the important victory.
Prior to that result Kashima won their away game at Nagoya Grampus in the J-League. The scoreline was 2-0.There might be some complaints about the fixture list from the Kashima Antlers manager N. Soma as the team has another away game coming up in only three days, this time against Sagan Tosu.
The travelling fans enjoy Kashima Antlers's attacking play in away games, having scored 9 goals in 6 league matches away. They concede less than a goal on average per away game (5 so far).
Head 2 Head
The dueling parties have met before this season: Kashima Antlers - Consadole 3-0. Numbers for the last ten meetings between these two teams are: two wins for Consadole, three draws and five wins for Kashima Antlers. Over 2,5 goals: five times; under 2,5 goals: five games.Top Goalscorers
  A. Lopes de Souza 11 goals |  R. Araki 5 goals |  A. Ueda 5 goals |
Consadole Sapporo missing players
Kashima Antlers missing players
| Consadole Sapporo | Kashima Antlers | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 10 | Played | P | 9 | 25 | ||
| 9 | 4 | Won | W | 5 | 13 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Drew | D | 2 | 7 | ||
| 9 | 3 | Lost | L | 2 | 5 | ||
| 42 | 23 | Scored | S | 19 | 51 | ||
| 37 | 18 | Conceded | C | 9 | 27 | ||
| 92% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 100% | ||
| 84% | 100% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 78% | 88% | ||
| 64% | 80% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 67% | 60% | ||
| 36% | 60% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 44% | 36% | ||
| 20% | 30% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 11% | 12% | ||
| 72% | 100% | BTTS | BTTS | 56% | 60% | ||
| 12% | 0% | Clean Sheets | C S | 33% | 32% | ||
| 24% | 0% | Failed to Score | F T | 11% | 8% | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.1 | 0.8 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.1 | 1.2 | ||
| 2 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 4 | ||
| 12.2 | 12.8 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 11.3 | 12.6 | ||
| 4.6 | 5.9 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 5.7 | 5.6 | ||
| 36% | 39% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 37% | 37% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 11 |
| 2 | Consadole Sapporo | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Avispa Fukuoka | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -4 | 5 |
| 4 | Sagan Tosu | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -9 | 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 | Kawasaki Frontale | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 31 | 45 |
| 2 | Nagoya Grampus | 17 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 35 |
| 3 | Sagan Tosu | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 28 |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 27 |
| 5 | Avispa Fukuoka | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 25 |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 24 |
| 7 | Vissel Kobe | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 24 |
| 8 | Urawa Reds | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | -1 | 23 |
| 9 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 22 |
| 10 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 21 |
| 11 | Tokyo | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | -3 | 18 |
| 12 | Tokushima Vortis | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -6 | 17 |
| 13 | Consadole Sapporo | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | -1 | 15 |
| 14 | Shonan Bellmare | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | -2 | 15 |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 13 |
| 16 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 14 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | -8 | 12 |
| 17 | Oita Trinita | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 10 | -11 | 9 |
| 18 | Gamba Osaka | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -9 | 7 |
| 19 | Vegalta Sendai | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 20 | -18 | 7 |
| 20 | Yokohama | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 36 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 21 | -26 | 6 |