Countdown To Kashiwa, pt 1

So this Saturday's encounter with Kashiwa Reysol has come to be the most important game of the season for Jang Wae Ryong's under-performing Omiya Ardija team - having aimed for the sky pre-season, come the end of the year and the Squirrels are once again scrapping around in the gutter, trying desperately to avoid relegation. A draw against the Sun Kings will be enough to guarantee survival; a defeat and Ardija will go into the final game against a relaxed 'n' relegated Oita Trinita knowing that they simply have to win. Does that sound like a recipe for success to you?

As Agent Orange has pointed out, the presence in any Ardija line-up of Kohei Tokita has the tendency to render a statistical approach to matches null and void, but hey - what's a blogger to do in the run up to 2009's Big One? So here we take a look at the Sun Kings' recent form and their away results in the league throughout the year.

If any patterns can be said to emerge - and in all honesty, they really can't - it's that Kashiwa have a tendency to draw away fixtures against teams towards the lower half of the standings. Which is, you know, good. Like the Squirrels, Reysol are also an inconsistent team, as evidenced by their disastrous defeats by FC Tokyo and Montedio Yamagata being followed by sensational successes against Shimizu S-Pulse and Albirex Niigata. Anyway, here's how Kashiwa look:

Last six games:

DLLLWW

Last six away games:

DWWDLW

Away defeats this season:

Hiroshima
Nagoya
Gamba
Kobe
FC Tokyo

Away wins this season:

Jubilo
Kyoto
Urawa
Nagoya
Niigata

*