📊 Form Guide

Albirex Niigata

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Albirex Niigata won’t want a repeat of their last result here after the 1-3 J1 League defeat in their last game at the hands of FC Tokyo.

In that match, Albirex Niigata had 64% possession and 13 shots on goal with 4 on target. The only player on the scoresheet for Albirex Niigata was Fumiya Hayakawa (90'). On the other side, FC Tokyo had 10 shots on goal with 6 of them on target. Teruhito Nakagawa (39'), Kosuke Shirai (49') and Diego Oliveira (62') scored for FC Tokyo.

Under three goals per match were scored during 5 of the last 6 fixtures where Albirex Niigata have been participants. Regarding the goal weighting from this period, opposition teams scored a total of 7 and Albirex Niigata managed the sum of 5. That pattern might not be sustained into this match, though.

Analysis of their past results shows that Albirex Niigata:

• have not lost a league tie with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in their previous 4 games.
• are without a home win in the past 4 matches in the league. Fans are getting restless.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima

WWDDWD 📈

In their previous game, Sanfrecce Hiroshima drew 2-2 in the J1 League tie with Kawasaki Frontale.

In that game, Sanfrecce Hiroshima managed 48% possession and 27 attempts on goal with 8 on target. For Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the goals were scored by Yuki Ohashi (38') and Mutsuki Kato (75'). For their opponents, Kawasaki Frontale had 14 shots at goal with 3 on target. Yū Kobayashi (65') and Shin Yamada (74') scored for Kawasaki Frontale.

Over the course of their last 6 clashes, Sanfrecce Hiroshima have helped themselves to a total of 14 goals. Sanfrecce Hiroshima have also managed to score on each one of those occasions. During those fixtures, their defenders have seen 5 goals scored by their opponents.

Pre-game facts show that Sanfrecce Hiroshima:

• haven't beaten Albirex Niigata when they've played them away from home in the last 2 matches in the league.
• are unbeaten in their last 8 away league matches. They really have been good on their travels.
• have not won away from home in their last 2 league games.

↔️ Head to head

If we look at their past head to head duels dating back to 15/04/2016, there is nothing to separate the two clubs with Albirex Niigata winning 2 of those games, Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2 and 2 being drawn in normal time.

A sum of 9 goals were scored between them throughout the course of those matches, with 5 of them for Albirex and 4 being from Sanfrecce. That is an average goals per game value of 1.5.

The previous league match between the two was J1 League match day 19 on 01/07/2023 when it ended Albirex Niigata 2-0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

In that game, Albirex Niigata had 42% possession and 16 attempts on goal with 6 on target. The scorers were Shunsuke Mito (25') and Naoto Arai (28').

On the other side, Sanfrecce Hiroshima had 10 shots at goal with 2 on target.

The referee was Yuichi Nishimura.

🗞️ Team News: Albirex Niigata

The Albirex Niigata boss Rikizo Matsuhashi has no fitness worries to speak of before this clash thanks to a fully injury-free squad available to select from.

🗞️ Team News: Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Sanfrecce Hiroshima manager Michael Skibbe has not got a full squad to pick from. Douglas Vieira (Knee injury), Hayato Araki (Hamstring injury), Yusuke Chajima (Calf strain), Ezequiel (Hamstring injury) and Taichi Yamasaki (Cruciate ligament injury) can’t be considered.

💡 Prediction

Our thinking is that Albirex Niigata should have enough to breach the defence of this Sanfrecce Hiroshima team, however a single goal is unlikely to prevent defeat.

We therefore reckon that it will be a close game with a 1-2 winning margin for Sanfrecce Hiroshima when the full-time whistle blows. Should be a good one.

Our expert partners are tipping under 3.5 goals for this match. Check out their VIP predictions here.

Andre Moura, 04:12 03/05/2024