Cerezo Osaka vs FC Tokyo
Middle of this week Cerezo Osaka will return to face FC Tokyo in the Japanese League play-off phase. This time they acted as host, at Nagai Stadium.
At the first meeting they lost 1-0 after failing to pursue Kensuke Nagai’s single goal. That is, Cerezo Osaka must win a minimum of 2-0 to qualify for the next phase.
Each played once after the match in which Cerezo Osaka won 2-0 over Jubilo Iwata, while FC Tokyo gave up the same score at Vegalta Sendai headquarters. Despite losing, FC Tokyo did not move from the top of the league standings, while Cerezo Osaka was still scattered at number 9.
That fact is expected not to make Cerezo Osaka guts. Because the victory over Jubilo Iwata helped them keep a nearly perfect home record since April with 5 wins and 1 draw, scoring 9 goals and never conceding. In fact, FC Tokyo was one of the victims who surrendered with a score of 1-0.
The defeat at Nagai Stadium last month is certainly a big lesson for FC Tokyo. In fact, the defeat made Cerezo Osaka wipe out five consecutive meetings before the trend stopped in the first leg of this month. If you reflect on this note, FC Tokyo must be very careful in tomorrow’s match.
Our Prediction: 1
Odds: 1.70