Perhaps a welcome break from league football as Vegalta Sendai & Sanfrecce Hiroshima face off to decide who makes it to next stage of the Ybc Levain Cup. All the pre-match information is available here!
It's no vacation for neither Vegalta nor Sanfrecce Hiroshima 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.
It's time to recharge all electronic entertainment devices for Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who are travelling more than 1100 kilometers to play this game.
Vegalta Sendai form and stats
Vegalta was eliminated in the group stage last season in the Ybc Levain Cup.When playing at home in the J-League, Vegalta Sendai have managed 1 win, 1 draw and suffered 3 defeats from 5 games. On the other hand, in the Ybc Levain Cup, Vegalta Sendai has performed like this (both home and away): 1 win, 0 draws and 4 losses.
Vegalta's previous game was also a home match, the defeat 0-1 versus Avispa Fukuoka. Midfield player Rikiya Uehara got a match rating of 7.33 in that game, the max score being 10. Uehara hit two key passes. The defeat against Avispa Fukuoka was especially painful as the deciding goal against was scored one minutes into stoppage time (by D. Watari).
Preceding that game was the away draw at Kawasaki Frontale that finished 2-2.Some members of the home team might already be thinking of their next match, the J-League game versus Oita Trinita in only three days. This game is also played here at Yurtec Stadium Sendai.
The lack of attacking qualities in Vegalta Sendai means that they have only scored 2 goals in 5 league home games, less than half a goal per match. With more than 1,5 conceded goals on average, the Vegalta Sendai defense is not exactly impregnable. 8 goals conceded from 5 games. You can find more goal stats on the Statistics tab above.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima form and stats
Sanfrecce Hiroshima's mission in Ybc Levain Cup last season failed in the group stage.The story so far for the visiting team on their J-League travels is 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats. Total Ybc Levain Cup statistics for Sanfrecce Hiroshima: 1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses.
Home advantage was not enough for Sanfrecce in their previous game, as they lost their J-League-match, hosting Tokushima Vortis, 0-1. Midfielder Tsukasa Morishima was the best performer of that match, with a rating of 7.15. Morishima hit the woodwork once, hit three key passes, dribled passed the opponent 2 of 3 times and had 34 successful passes (of 40 total).
Prior to that result Sanfrecce Hiroshima won their away game at Gamba Osaka in the J-League. The scoreline was 2-1.There might be some complaints about the fixture list from the Sanfrecce manager H. Jofuku as the team has another away game coming up in only four days, this time against Cerezo Osaka.
Scoring goals is the main ingredient in creating success in football, and not only at home. So far Sanfrecce Hiroshima have scored 13 goals in 9 league games away. 11 goals have been conceded by Sanfrecce in these games.
Head 2 Head
These teams' last encounter with each other was the Sanfrecce Hiroshima - Vegalta 0-1 earlier this season. Head-2-head stats last ten meetings: four - four - two (Vegalta wins - draws - Sanfrecce Hiroshima wins). As for goals, three matches ended with three or more goals (over 2,5), seven had two or less.Top Goalscorers
  Y. Asano 3 goals |  T. Nishimura 2 goals |  S. Higashi 2 goals |
Vegalta Sendai missing players
Sanfrecce Hiroshima missing players
| Vegalta Sendai | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 10 | Played | P | 13 | 25 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Won | W | 4 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Drew | D | 4 | 9 | ||
| 15 | 7 | Lost | L | 5 | 10 | ||
| 21 | 5 | Scored | S | 15 | 23 | ||
| 46 | 19 | Conceded | C | 19 | 30 | ||
| 92% | 80% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 92% | 88% | ||
| 64% | 50% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 69% | 56% | ||
| 44% | 30% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 54% | 40% | ||
| 36% | 30% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 23% | 16% | ||
| 20% | 20% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 15% | 8% | ||
| 44% | 30% | BTTS | BTTS | 46% | 44% | ||
| 24% | 30% | Clean Sheets | C S | 15% | 20% | ||
| 40% | 60% | Failed to Score | F T | 46% | 48% | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.2 | 1.2 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 0.5 | 0.5 | ||
| 1 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 0 | ||
| 9 | 7.6 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 10.4 | 10.7 | ||
| 3 | 2.5 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 4.1 | 3.9 | ||
| 28% | 20% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 28% | 23% | ||
| 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 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| 2 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -5 | 5 |
| 4 | Vegalta Sendai | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 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 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 29 | 42 |
| 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 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 22 |
| 9 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 21 |
| 10 | Urawa Reds | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | -4 | 20 |
| 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 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 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 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -6 | 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 |