Nagoya Grampus vs Cerezo Osaka 10/10/20

10 October 2020

Nagoya Grampus and Cerezo Osaka go head-to-head at the Toyota Stadium in the J1 League upper-half-of-the-table clash.

The hosts have been struggling to deliver week in, week out lately, enduring mixed fortunes from their last eight J1 League fixtures (W4, L4). Nagoya’s games during that eight-game sequence have been notably tight, as 75% (six) have yielded a full-time margin of a single goal. However, the ‘Grampus’ have picked up five wins from their last six home league outings (W5, L1), four despite a -1 handicap. Indeed, Nagoya’s ability to bounce back after falling behind early in the game has seen them win two of five J1 League home matches in which they conceded the opening goal this term (W2, D1, L2). Allowing the opener should not be an issue here, as Massimo Ficcadenti’s men have kept a clean sheet in both of their previous top-flight home H2Hs (W1, D1).

Meanwhile, the visitors have shipped the opening goal in three of their last league fixtures, going on to lose each despite scoring in two. Yet in contrast, Miguel Ángel Lotina’s players have broken the deadlock in a league second-high eight away league games this season, losing just one such encounter (W7, L1). Remarkably, they have secured four triumphs in their previous five J1 League trips (W4, L1), each via a narrow one-goal margin. However, Cerezo’s lapses of concentration after the half-time break has seen the vast majority (86.67%) of their away league goals conceded this term come in the second half of play (13/15). At the other end of the pitch, they racked up 68.42% of their away goals scored in the same timeframe (13/19).