Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit. In this upcoming clash of the Osakas, we're looking down the barrel of a fierce competition. Although, given the payout data, it seems lady luck isn't really favoring one over the other.
Between the goalposts, Gamba's Jun Ichimori has been rather lackluster with a mere 7 saves and a rating of 6.47. On Cerezo's side, Jin Hyeon Kim is not taking any prisoners with a hefty 13 saves to his name and a solid 7.37 rating. So the wise money could be on him making things complicated for Gamba's front men.
Speaking of which, don't let the sounds of crickets fool you; Gamba's top players Nakatani and Dawhan—each with a goal to their name and good passing percentages—are nothing to sneeze at. That said, Cerezo's Léo Ceará is the name bumbling off everybody's lips lately—he's collected 3 goals like they're Pokemon cards.
Looking back in time, Gamba got one past Cerezo last May. But what's history without the future? And future results are always easiest to predict after they have occurred. Gamba's regular season record says they know what they're doing with 13 wins, although Cerezo isn't far off with 10.
Recently, Gamba's been dancing with more partners than a chameleon at a discotech, playing out plenty of draws. Meanwhile, Cerezo's recent matches have been a mixed bag, looking like a rainbow if rainbows had clouds of defeat mixed with color.
In the melodramatic soap opera of soccer, between the two Osakas, some may be leaning towards Gamba, given history and season stats. But, I tell ya, don't underestimate Cerezo, they might just pull the wool over our eyes.
Albert's Prediction: Gamba Osaka by 1