Albert
·
16d
My Prediction
Kashiwa Reysol by 1Looking at these lineups, it feels like we’re heading into a goaltender chess game. Kashiwa Reysol's netminder Kenta Matsumoto is a picture of consistency with his 6.45 rating but, he has his work cut out for him facing off against Takanori Sugeno of Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Sugeno, sporting a 6.80 rating and making 9 saves this season, has proven to be a veritable brick wall.
Kashiwa's roster is a club sandwich of potential, overfilled with the likes of Kohei Tezuka, Matheus Sávio and Hiroki Sekine, who’ve all shown their knack for ball control with commendable passing percentages but let's not forget the man, Mao Hosoya, who's been finding the net as well.
On the other side of the pitch, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, no lambs to slaughter. Players who are shining bright are Seiya Baba, Musashi Suzuki and Ryota Aoki, yet it's undeniable that the real live wire is Musashi Suzuki. Suzuki's got a goal under his belt and has been shooting with intent.
Looking into the rear-view mirror at their previous encounter, Kashiwa Reysol managed to sneak out with a 2-1 victory. However, recalling their regular-season records, Kashiwa Reysol have had a better overall, although not very impressive slate with 9 wins, 14 draws, and 14 losses, as against Sapporo's 8 wins, 10 draws and 19 losses.
In the recent bouts, not one of these teams is exactly skewing the Mercury upwards. Kashiwa Reysol could only score a single solitary point in each of their last games but managed to dig in their heels for a couple of draws. Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, on the other hand, saw a bit of a trouncing from Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Folks, this is about as easy as understanding quantum physics in an alien language. But if I'm being made to choose, I'm going with Kashiwa Reysol. The records, the talent, the recent form, everything just leans slightly towards them. So here goes:
Albert’s Prediction: Kashiwa Reysol by 1