Both aiming to bounce back to winning ways in the J1 League, FC Tokyo and Albirex Niigata will square off at the Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts have dropped to eighth spot in Japan's top flight following back-to-back defeats, while their visitors sit 14th after seeing an unbeaten streak come to an end on Saturday.
Match preview
© Imago
FC Tokyo return to the Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday with the aim of bouncing back to winning ways and breaking back into the J1 League's top six after suffering a dip in form in recent weeks.
Following a disappointing 11th-placed finish last year, the capital team enjoyed a pleasing first half to the 2024 campaign, having moved on to 33 points from 20 outings with back-to-back 1-0 victories over Shonan Bellmare and Consadole Sapporo in late June.
Peter Cklamovski's side have failed to extend that run and join the division's frontrunners since, though, now heading into the weekend on the back of consecutive top-flight defeats having firstly hosted Avispa Fukuoka at the end of last month and found themselves on the wrong end of a one-goal game as Masato Shigemi condemned them to a defeat.
A trip to Kashiwa Reysol then followed last weekend, and Cklamovski's side again left empty-handed, despite initially leading through Diego Oliveira and drawing level at two goals apiece in the 86th minute through Teppei Oka, as Sachiro Toshima restored the hosts' lead and snatched all three points deep into injury time.
Now on the back of another disappointment in midweek, having dropped out of the Emperor's Cup following a 2-1 home loss to second-tier JEF United, FC Tokyo return to J1 League action in eighth spot with confidence low, but still only trailing Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Avispa Fukuoka and Cerezo Osaka by one, two and three points respectively, they do have the chance to strengthen their standing at the top end of the division with a return to winning ways on Saturday to kick off an improved run.
Their visitors, meanwhile, will also bid to bounce back at the weekend following a pair of losses of their own across J1 League and Emperor's Cup action over the last week, after helping their own position at the other end of the table in recent weeks.
After their 10th-placed finish in 2023, Albirex Niigata set out for another solid mid-table place and top-half push this time around, but they endured a tough start, finding themselves 17th on 16 points from 16 outings after a dismal run between late April and late May, in which they managed just one victory and one draw alongside five defeats.
Rikizo Matsuhashi's side would then produce an improved run to climb further above the bottom three, though, going unbeaten in the next five outings as draws with Kashima Antlers, Kawasaki Frontale and Sanfrecce Hiroshima fell between away victories over Machida Zelvia and Consadole Saporro.
After that latest 1-0 triumph at the end of June, Albi hosted Sagan Tosu on Saturday but were unable to make it six top-flight games unbeaten, eventually falling to a 4-3 defeat at the Denka Big Swan Stadium after Michael Fitzgerald and Soya Fujiwara reduced the deficit in the second half.
Now on the back of a more concerning defeat in midweek, having been dumped out of the Emperor's Cup in a 6-1 defeat to second-tier V-Varen Nagasaki, Albirex Niigata will turn their full focus to the J1 League and bid to improve their current standing in 14th spot and extend a four-point lead over the bottom three.
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Team News
FC Tokyo should field a similar starting XI to the one from their 3-2 loss away at Kashiwa Reysol in their last J1 League outing, with Diego Oliveira bound to again lead the line having moved onto six goals for the season with their opener in that contest.
Ryotaro Araki, who has also managed six goals in his 15 league appearances so far this term, will fight to come in from the outset after settling for a substitute appearance against Kashiwa Reysol.
Kei Koizumi and Takahiro Ko are mainstays in the midfield, while Yasuki Kimoto and Teppei Oka will hope to continue their partnership in the middle of the defence.
Albirex Niigata's attack will again be spearheaded by Kaito Taniguchi, who netted his ninth goal of the season in their 4-3 defeat to Sagan Tosu last weekend.
Motoki Nagakura, who has netted five goals of his own so far this term, missed that game but returned for the midweek Emperor's Cup loss, and he could be in line to return to the front line from the outset on Saturday.
Yuzuru Shimada and Hiroki Akiyama will continue their partnership at the base of the midfield, while Thomas Deng will hope to again join key man Michael Fitzgerald at the heart of the back four.
FC Tokyo possible starting lineup:
Nozawa; Shirai, Kimoto, Oka, Tokumoto; Ko, Nakagawa, Koizumi; Anzai, Oliveira, Araki
Albirex Niigata possible starting lineup:
Abe; Fujiwara, Fitzgerald, Deng, Horigome; Akiyama, Shimada; Komi, Hasegawa, Nagakura; Taniguchi
We say: FC Tokyo 1-1 Albirex Niigata
Both teams will be keen to bounce back to winning ways on Saturday after disappointing results last time out, and we anticipate a hard-fought encounter which could end level in the Japanese capital.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
