You'd think this match would be a walk in the park, a stroll in the meadow, wouldn't you? Avispa Fukuoka taking on Nagoya Grampus, why, it sounds like a scene from a Pixar movie. But folks, this is the J1 League. This is the world of real football, not the candy-floss and unicorns kind.
Can't count the chickens before they hatch though. Avispa Fukuoka might be the favored horse on the racetrack but nobody gave that memo to Nagoya Grampus. You'd think Nagoya's goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak with his 7.48 rating and 16 saves would be glad. But he has two solid walls to break through - Takumi Nagaishi and Masaaki Murakami, guarding Avispa Fukuoka's goalposts. They've got a combined 16 saves with ratings of 7.80 and 6.90 respectively. How convenient.
Let's draw our eyes over to the Top Players of the two teams – and the talent is staggering. Kensuke Nagai and Sho Inagaki are shining stars for Nagoya, having a rating of 7.52 each meanwhile for Avispa; they have Wellington and Kazuya Konno who knock it out of the park with their 7.20 and 7.03 ratings. Now, that's a recipe for something exciting.
Looking into history – and we have quite a few showdowns to reminisce too – Nagoya Grampus and Avispa Fukuoka have often left the scorecard barren, as if scoring was frowned upon.
Their regular season records are a contrary riddle though. Nagoya Grampus has clearly notched more wins at 14 compared to Avispa's modest 9, but Avispa seems to be a bigger fan of the draw with a whopping 13 ties.
The recent performance, well, it's as confusing as a chameleon in a bag of Skittles. Nagoya Grampus is on a winning streak having crushed Jubilo Iwata, Kawasaki Frontale, and Albirex Niigata in their last three matches. Avispa Fukuoka on the other hand, seems to be enjoying the view from the fence with two scoreless draws and some disappointing losses.
Now the million-dollar question. Who's going to take the cake? Avispa Fukuoka has the odds favoring them and a wall of goalkeepers. Nagoya Grampus has the more prolific striker duo and a recent record of wins. It feels like waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Albert’s Prediction: Nagoya Grampus by 1