1. Albirex
Niigata (8) vs Montedio
Yamagata (9)
The hosts
seeking their fourth consecutive victory
TEAM NEWS
Albirex
Niigata will have a full squad except goalkeeper TakahiroTakagi.
Montedio
Yamagata defender Shogo Nishikawa will be suspended.
Albirex
Niigata
Suspended:
None
Doubtful:
None
Injured/unavailable:
Takahiro Takagi (shoulder)
Montedio
Yamagata
Suspended:
Shogo Nishikawa (1 match)
Doubtful:
None
Injured/unavailable:
Yu Hasegawa (ligament)
MATCH
PREVIEW
Albirex
Niigata are one of the strongest teams in J1 at the
moment. Last round, they
surprisingly defeated Shimizu S-Pulse, their third consecutive win. They used
to be rock bottom but now they're 8th.
Forward Kisho Yano is even selected to play
for
Substitute
forward Hideo Oshima will be decisive. He started his professional career in Montedio Yamagata while they played in J2. He played very
well. Then, he got a chance to play for Yokohama F-Marinos
and became a big player. He's extremely highly motivated for the match on
Saturday.
Montedio
Yamagata lost to FC Tokyo at home 0-3 in Round 11. The defense was completely destroyed.
Defender Shogo Nishikawa will be suspended. Head coach Shinji Kobayashi is worried
about how to correct problems with their defense.
Albirex
Niigata will win the match.
HEAD TO
HEAD
Montedio
Yamagata lost 0-1 at home and drew 1-1 away last year.