Tokyo Verdy VS Thespa Kusatsu

Tokyo Verdy and Thespa Kusatsu lock horns in this Japanese Emperor's Cup 1/32-finals clash at Ajinomoto Stadium Wednesday evening Beijing time. Both teams play in the J2 League, the second-highest tier of Japanese football. Japan is the strongest football country in Asia. We can expect a match of mediocre level here by J2 League standards. However, there is a clear difference in pure class between the two teams! The hosts currently occupy the third place in the standings with a fine 33 points to their points. They have clearly improved from last season when they finished in 9th place with 61 points to their account. They had a good score difference – 62:55 to be precise. They do not seem to have fully realized how much better they are this season. Their number of expected points (xPTS) is 36.09. With this number of points they would be in 2nd place, behind the leaders, Machida, who have 42 points to their account. They have netted the ball 24 times in 19 games in J2 League so far. This is a little less than I would have expected based on my sophisticated, in-depth preseason analysis. However, I am convinced that they can improve in this area of the game even further. Their number of expected goals (xG) is, in fact, 27.03. Kusatsu, too, have been good offensively - netting the ball 22 times.  They have surprised me positively in this area of the game..  Even so, the hosts do have a clear edge in terms of goal-scoring potential. Kusatsu's number of expected goals (xG) is 18.25. In terms of individual skill they are far from the level of Tokyo Verdy but do have pretty good offensive structure. They are in 9th place in the league table but I have them only in the 16th place in my power rating that reflects the teams' pure class. Last season they were bad and finished in 20th place in this league with a total of 22 clubs. They had a horrible goal difference of 36:57 and grabbed just 42 points. I expect to improve only a little this season.

In terms of defensive quality the hosts have a big edge over Kusatsu here! Their defense has been at about the same level as that of Machida's. Tokyo Verdy have conceded just 11 goals in J2 League. Stupid individual mistakes are rare, the structure is fine and the midfielders  actively take part in defending! Kusatsu's defense is not bad but they have allowed 22 goals. Their number of expected goals allowed (xGA) is however, 26.89. The hosts were unlucky to lose their most recent match 0-2. Indeed, the visitors, Vegalta Sendai, who are a dangerous team though, escaped with a 2-0 win. Tokyo Verdy did have 54% ball possession and recorded many more goal attempts, shots off goal, total passes, completed passes and dangerous attacks – 53-30. Vegalta Sendau did, however, have one more shot on goal. The hosts would have deserved at least a draw.! Before this their record was two wins and one draw. Kusatsu, on the other hand, have been in decline recently. They have won just one of their most recent five games. This win was achieved on the 17th of May against Mito. They did, however, have some luck on their side. Mito could easily have won the game after having 52% ball possession and many more attacks and dangerous attacks. On the road they have been abysmal recently – losing four of their latest five away games. The odds offered by the biggest bookies on the hosts to win during the 90 minutes of play are around 1.80 at the time of writing this preview late Tuesday evening Beijing time and this is way too high! Unless some unexpected news concerning the starting lineups appear – I expect the hosts' odds to drop as smart money should pile up on them..

东京Verdy VS草津

北京时间周三晚上，东京Verdy队和草津队将在味之本体育场进行日本天皇杯1/32决赛的对决。两支球队都参加了J2联赛，这是日本足球的第二高级别联赛。日本是亚洲最强的足球国家。按照J2联赛的标准，我们可以期待一场中等水平的比赛。然而，两支球队在纯粹的等级上有明显的区别!东道主目前以33分的优势排在积分榜第三位。与上赛季相比，他们有了明显的进步，上赛季他们以61分排名第九。他们的比分差距很大，准确地说是62:55。他们似乎还没有完全意识到他们这个赛季有多好。他们的期望值(xPTS)为36.09。以这个积分，他们将排在第二，落后于领头羊町田，他们的账户上有42分。到目前为止，他们在J2联赛的19场比赛中取得了24次进球。这比我在季前赛的深入分析中预期的要少一些。然而，我相信他们在这方面可以进一步提高。他们的预期目标数(xG)实际上是27.03。草津在进攻端也表现出色，有22次进球入网。他们在这方面给了我惊喜。即便如此，东道主在进球潜力方面确实有明显的优势。草津的预期进球数(xG)为18.25。就个人技术而言，他们与东京Verdy的水平相差甚远，但他们的进攻结构确实很好。他们在联赛中排名第9，但在我反映球队纯粹级别的实力排名中，他们只排在第16位。上个赛季他们很糟糕，在这个联赛中排名第20位，总共有22家俱乐部。他们的净胜球差达到了可怕的36:57，只拿到了42分。我期望这个赛季只会有一点进步。

就防守质量而言，主队在这里比草津队有很大的优势!他们的防守水平和町田的差不多。东京Verdy在J2联赛中只丢了11个球。愚蠢的个人失误很少，结构很好，中场球员积极参与防守!草津的防守还不错，但是他们丢了22个球。然而，他们的预期失球数(xGA)是26.89个。东道主不幸地以0比2输掉了他们最近的一场比赛。事实上，客队仙台维加尔塔(Vegalta Sendai)是一支危险的球队，但他们以2-0获胜。东京Verdy拥有54%的控球率，并且记录了更多的射门次数、射门次数、总传球次数、完成传球次数和危险进攻——53比30。然而，Vegalta Sendau还有一次射门。东道主至少应该得到一场平局。在此之前，他们的战绩是两胜一平。另一方面，草津最近一直在走下坡路。在最近的五场比赛中，他们只赢了一场。这场胜利是在5月17日对水户的比赛中取得的。不过，他们还是有些运气的。在拥有52%的控球率和更多的进攻和危险进攻后，水户本可以轻松赢得比赛。在客场，他们最近表现糟糕，最近5场客场比赛输了4场。在北京时间周二晚上撰写这篇预告时，最大的博彩公司对东道主在90分钟比赛中获胜的赔率约为1.80，这太高了!除非出现一些关于首发阵容的意外消息——我预计东道主的赔率会下降，因为聪明的钱应该会堆积在他们身上。