Chiangrai United vs Gamba Osaka

Chiangrai United and Gamba Osaka go head-to-head at the Milliy Stadium in an exciting AFC Champions League Group G encounter.

Chiangrai picked themselves up from a 2-1 away loss to Jeonbuk Motors on Matchday 1 to beat out-of-form Tampines Rovers 1-0 last time out, with three of the four goals scored/conceded across those fixtures coming in the second half of play. The ‘Beetles’ are no strangers to tight, keenly-contested affairs, as evidenced by the fact that each of their last eight competitive matches featured a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals (W6, D1, L1). Curiously, five games during that eight-match sequence yielded the identical 2-1 scoreline, which has been the case in two of Chiangrai’s last four competitive home fixtures. Speaking of their home games, Emerson Pereira’s men have established as a force to be reckoned with on home turf, as they go into this meeting unbeaten in their last nine home outings (W7, D2).

On the other hand, following a convincing 2-0 away win over Tampines in their Group H opener, Gamba recovered from a two-goal deficit to hold Jeonbuk to a 2-2 home draw last time out. As a result, they have now scored 2+ goals five times in six matches in all competitions after scoring one or less in the previous 12 in a row. Moreover, three clean sheets from their last five competitive games represent a notable defensive improvement comparing to a run of seven straight fixtures without a shutout. Yet, low scoring has been a common theme in Gamba’s away matches over the past five months, with each of their last nine road trips in that sequence producing under 2.5 total goals. Worryingly, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto’s side failed to find the net six times during that nine-game stretch.