The league leaders after two rounds of J-League will travel to Suita City Football Stadium, where they will face off against Gamba Osaka in the 3rd league match of the season.
Gamba Osaka have been up and down in the recent performances. They started off their J-League campaign with a disappointing defeat against Yokohama Marinos (2:3) at home but managed to bounce back big time in the 2nd round when they completely trashed Shimizu 2:4. As for their YBC Levain Cup campaign, they have lost to Iwata (1:0) on March 6th. At this point, I am not sure what to think of Gamba Osaka. They disappointed in the opening match of the season, then managed to impress, and disappointed once again in the Cup match. Maybe we will get a better insight on how good Gamba Osaka are after tonight’s match when they will get tested against Nagoya Grampus.
Nagoya Grampus are off to a perfect start of the season with a 2-0-0 record to their name. In the opening match of the season, they were faced off against Sagan Tosu, whom they defeated with a high 0:4 win, to which they added yet another impressive win against C-Osaka (2:0). In the course of those two matches, Nagoya Grampus scored a total of 6 goals, while conceding none. This is as of now the best goal difference in the league. Looking at those two matches, Nagoya Grampus looked strong, however, this is usually the case with this team at the end of the season. Last season they also managed to win the opening two matches and then proceeded to go down a 16 games winless streak. Nonetheless, Nagoya Grampus look stronger heading into this season and as it seems now, there is no team that can stop them.
Gamba Osaka will come into this match with a full squad available, while Nagoya Grampus miss Mateus and Aoki.
Both teams have managed to score 6 goals in the last 2 league matches, which is the most among all other teams in J-League. Bookmakers seem to agree this match can go either way, which I believe is the case here as well. With a potent attack on both sides, there is no clear winner, despite the fact, Nagoya managed to win the last two H2H matches against Gamba Osaka (1:4) and (3:2). Taking all into consideration, this one should be a highly entertaining match. With all of the last 7 H2H matches between Gamba Osaka and Nagoya Grampus ending in at least 4 goals, I would be surprised if we won’t be looking at something similar here. At home stadium Gamba Osaka tend to perform well, scoring at least 3 goals in the last 3 home matches, while same can be said for Nagoya away record, where they scored at least 2 in the last 3 away games. As mentioned this match can go either way, but there is one thing I am sure of. This match will see plenty of scoring opportunities and ultimately goals. I expect to see at least 3 goals on Saturday.
Prediction: Over 3.00 goals
Odds: 2.13 SBOBET
