Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Avispa Fukuoka

Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Avispa Fukuoka are set to face off against each other in a mid-table J1 League showdown at Hiroshima Big Arch.

It’s not been a dream J1 League campaign for Hiroshima by any stretch of the imagination. The hosts have earned a notorious tag as ‘stalemate kings’ after drawing a league joint-high ten league matches this term, with two of their last three outings ending level (L1). Unsurprisingly stuck in mid-table, they can at least take some heart from a thumping 4-0 Emperor’s Cup victory against lower-league Iwaki during the week. That triumph saw Hiroshima score as many goals as they had four league matches combined beforehand, highlighting Michael Skibbe’s underperforming frontline as the team’s weak link. But they’ve been regular on the scoresheet against Fukuoka, finding the net in their last ten J1 League H2Hs since a scoreless draw in 2011.

Meanwhile, the visitors carry a narrow one-point lead on Hiroshima into this round after a frustrating 2-1 home defeat to Kyoto knocked them down from an inspiring six-game unbeaten league run (W5, D1). Perhaps morally exhausted after that loss, Avispa Fukuoka suffered a shock Emperor’s Cup elimination against lower-tier Ehime in midweek, going down 2-0 at home. Desperate to return to winning ways, Shigetoshi Hasebe’s men take this trip amid a decent-looking four-game unbeaten league streak on the road (W3, D1). Fukuoka’s imperious away form rests on the shoulders of an impregnable backline that has kept three consecutive top-flight clean sheets on hostile turf in the build-up to this trip.