In a weekend match in week 3, on Saturday Mar 4th, Albirex Niigata will play host to Consadole Sapporo in a meeting of these two extremely mismatched J-League teams. Weather on match day is looking like a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 6 degrees, which will make playing unpleasant. 6th placed Albirex Niigata is fresh off their 2-1 win against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Shusuke Ota scored the first goal for Albirex Niigata in the 14th minute, then Suzuki added another in the 37th minute on a feed from Shusuke Ota. Albirex Niigata is looking for direction having earned 12 points in their last 10 matches, while consadole Sapporo sits at 15th place in the tables. In their last match they recorded a 1-3 loss against Vissel Kobe. Yuya Osako scored the first goal for Vissel Kobe in the 9th minute, then Sasaki added another in the 59th minute. They’re hoping to improve on their recent performance, having earned only 9 points in their last 10 matches.
This match will be the first time these two teams face eachother this season.
Ryota Aoki has been the most prolific scorer on Consadole Sapporo in the last five matches with 2 goals. Chiba and Kaito Taniguchi are the top scorers for Albirex Niigata in the last five matches, but unfortunately they only have one goal. It’s hard to imagine having success with those stats.