Tokyo FC vs Gamba Osaka 10/10/20

10 October 2020

Ajinomoto Stadium is the venue as Tokyo FC take on Gamba Osaka in a massive, heavyweight J1 League clash.

It’s been ‘all or nothing’ for Tokyo lately, as they’ve won four of their last six J1 League fixtures, losing the other two, with the previous five all seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet. Curiously, three of their four triumphs during that sequence yielded the identical 1-0 scoreline, with the winner in two arriving before the half-time break. Interestingly, Kenta Hasegawa’s men are one of three sides yet to play out a draw at home turf this season (W6, L4). Notably, five of their six J1 League home victories so far have been accompanied by a clean sheet, which is something Tokyo has failed to do in four of their last seven top-flight H2Hs as hosts (W6, D1).

Meanwhile, the visitors have hit a purple patch of form lately, as they take the field after putting together five consecutive league wins. Yet, four of those triumphs have yielded a narrow one-goal margin, with Gamba scoring the opening goal in all but one. Unlike Tokyo, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto’s men have been comfortable winning despite failing to keep a clean sheet. Indeed, 71.43% (five) of their seven top-flight away wins this season have come despite a -1 handicap. Notably, Gamba’s tendency to dictate the pace of the game from the start has seen them find the opening goal in a league-high eight trips so far (80%). By contrast, they’ve managed to score the opener (if any) just once in their last nine J1 League trips to Tokyo.