Japan vs Kyrgyzstan Predictions

Japan maintained their 100% record since exiting the World Cup in the summer, and while they will be unhappy about not coming out on top against Venezuela last week, the hosts will surely fancy their chances of doing well against a weak Kyrgyzstan side.

The hosts may not have beaten Venezuela last time out, but their performance against a decent side was a pleasing one. In truth, if the hosts can deliver a similar showing against a much weaker Kyrgyzstan side, then they’ll almost certainly regain the winning thread.

Prior to their decent showing against the Venezuelans, Japan recorded an excellent win over a very strong Uruguay side, scoring four goals in the process. On that occasion, Hajime Moriyasu’s men probably didn’t merit scoring as many as four, but their defensive efforts didn’t warrant conceding three either. Though by doing more than their visitors in terms of creating chances, the hosts, who produced an expected-goals for count of 2.0, deserved their win.

Prior to that victory over Uruguay, the Japanese beat both Panama and Costa Rica, scoring three goals on both occasions. Such results bode well ahead of this match.

Like the hosts, Kyrgyzstan have also been among the goals of late, though they’ve been facing much lesser opponents. Furthermore, the way in which they played last time out when beating Malaysia by a goal to nil doesn’t exactly suggest that they’ve got what it takes to face a side of Japan’s quality.

The last time Kyrgyzstan faced a side of even the slightest quality they were beaten comfortably. Back in May, Tuesday’s visitors took on Azerbaijan and lost by three goals to nil. On that occasion, they struggled to get serious in the final third, failed to register a shot on target and gave lots away at the back. Other away trips of note include heavy defeats against the likes of Iran, Australian and China, so the hosts ought to be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a vastly inferior opponent.

From a betting point of view, the selection that stands out is ‘Japan -3 Asian Handicap’. Having delivered some impressive performances on their own patch of late, scoring no less than 11 goals in four matches against four teams that are all far better than Tuesday’s opponents, Moriyasu’s men are backed to run riot. Having conceded at least four goals away against Iran, China and Kazakhstan in recent years, Kyrgyzstan are expected to endure a rough 90 minutes in Tokyo.