It’s an intriguing matchup we’ve got here between Avispa Fukuoka and Albirex Niigata. Let's take a whirl through their stats and see if we can't suss out a potential winner, shall we?
The last time Albirex's keeper Ryuga Tashiro faced Fukuoka, he didn’t get his hands on the ball even once. And with a lukewarm rating of 6.70, I'm not getting any warm fuzzies about his performance this time around either. Meanwhile, Avispa's goalie, Masaaki Murakami, displaying a respectable 7.30 rating and 6 saves, could be the brick wall to watch.
On the players' side, Albirex Niigata's Eiji Miyamoto has been putting up some good numbers. No goals yet, but don't count him out with that 94.3% accurate pass rate. Kaito Taniguchi and Yota Komi have also been scoring and have some solid figures on the field.
Speaking of solid figures, Avispa Fukuoka's Tomoya Ando has been dialing it in with a 7.50 rating and 1 goal under his belt. Takumi Kamijima and Wellington can’t claim to have netted any, but they’ve been boxing on with some respectable ratings.
The matchup history has been pretty even-steven, with both teams trading wins and losses. The Regular season records lean a little in Avispa Fukuoka's favour, but don't tell Albirex, it might hurt their feelings.
Finally, let's peek at the recent results. Albirex took a victory sandwich with a couple of losses in their last five games. Avispa Fukuoka, on the other hand, has been grinding, with only one win in their last five games. If we're talking consistency, they’re consistently unimpressive.
Well, taking this fine mess of facts and figures into account, I'd say we're in for a bit of a firecracker in this matchup. The soccer gods have spoken, and by their divine wisdom, I divine a win for Avispa Fukuoka but only by a hair's breadth.
Albert’s Prediction: Avispa Fukuoka by 1