Montedio Yamagata vs Imabari Prediction

Right then, let's have a proper look at this J2 League clash between Montedio Yamagata and Imabari. The lads from Yamagata are sitting 11th in the table with 46 points, while Imabari are just above them in 10th with 52 points. Not much between 'em on paper, but recent form tells a different story altogether.

Montedio have been proper decent at home lately - unbeaten in their last 6 home games with 4 wins and 2 draws. They're banging in 2 goals per game on their own patch, which ain't bad at all. Look at their recent results: they beat Oita Trinita 2-1 away, drew 2-2 with Omiya Ardija at home, and smashed Renofa Yamaguchi 2-1 at home. The home form is solid as a rock.

Imabari, on the other hand, have been a bit hit and miss on their travels. They've won half of their last 6 away games, which is decent, but they're also conceding regularly. They managed a 1-1 draw with V-varen Nagasaki away recently, which shows they can compete with the better teams. But here's the thing - they haven't kept a single clean sheet in their last 10 games. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Both teams have been finding the net consistently - 70% of their last 10 games have seen both teams score. Montedio are scoring for fun at home (2 per game), while Imabari are averaging 1.33 goals away from home. The previous meeting between these two ended 2-2 back in March, which suggests we're in for another goal-fest.

The goal expectancy has Montedio at 1.58 and Imabari at 1.17, which points towards a game with around 2.75 goals expected. With both teams' defensive records being a bit leaky and their attacking form being decent, I'm leaning towards both teams getting on the scoresheet here.