FC Tokyo vs Albirex Niigata

FC Tokyo and Albirex Niigata are set to lock horns in an exciting J1 League showdown at the Ajinomoto Stadium.

Tokyo’s downfall since the end of June continued in midweek Emperor’s Cup action as Chiba crashed them out of the cup competition in extra time (1-2), extending their losing streak to three matches. Back-to-back J1 League defeats have demoted Tokyo to mid-table, opening up a substantial eight-point gap between them and third-placed Gamba Osaka. Playing at the Ajinomoto Stadium doesn’t necessarily bode well for Tokyo, considering their indifferent home league record in 2024 (W4, D4, L4). But facing Albirex Niigata probably does, with Peter Cklamovski’s team going unbeaten in their last nine top-flight H2Hs (W6, D3), including a commanding 3-1 triumph in April’s reverse fixture on the road.

Meanwhile, Albirex Niigata relinquished a decent-looking five-game unbeaten J1 League run (W2, D3) in a goal-glutted 4-3 home defeat to relegation-battling Sagan Tosu last weekend. Slow to recover from that upset, the visitors slumped to a dreadful 6-1 Emperor’s Cup loss to V-Varen Nagasaki during the week, making it just one win in their last eight competitive games (D5, L2 – 90 minutes only). With the pressure building on manager Rikizo Matsuhashi, Albirex Niigata hit the road in search of a fifth consecutive away league game without defeat (W2, D2). Nothing less will do for the visiting side after their rotten patch saw their lead on 18th-placed Kyoto whittle down to only four points. But as you’d need to go back to 2014 for their last away league win against Tokyo, there’s not much reason for optimism.