Albirex Niigata vs Vissel Kobe

A fixture that could go a long way in deciding the J1 League title race pits Albirex Niigata and Vissel Kobe against each other at the Denka Big Swan Stadium.

A first-half blitzkrieg fired Albirex Niigata to a crucial 2-0 home win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima last time out, ending their five-match winless league streak (D2, L3). However, the hosts haven’t won back-to-back league games this season, while they’re winless in their last three top-flight meetings with Kobe (D1, L2), including consecutive scoring blanks ahead of this encounter. Niigata’s indifferent four-game league form on home turf (W2, L2) cannot inspire much confidence, especially considering both defeats in this sequence yielded an underwhelming 3-1 scoreline. But the ‘White Swans’ won’t give up if they fall behind, with only Urawa (12) rescuing more points from losing positions at home than Niigata this season (7 – W2, D1, L3).

On the other hand, Vissel Kobe’s form turmoil has seen them alternate between winning (3) and not (D2, L1) in their last six J1 League outings, most recently sharing the spoils in a frustrating 1-1 home draw against Consadole Sapporo. Plagued by a patchy form, the visitors have fallen five points behind table-topping Yokohama F. Marinos, but with a game in hand, they’re still in the running for a first-ever J1 League title. Unfortunately for ‘Ushi,’ playing on the road has been the main reason behind their recent struggle, as they had gone winless on three consecutive league travels (D2, L1) before a comprehensive 3-0 victory at Avispa Fukuoka in their last away league match.