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Vissel Kobe will entertain Melbourne City at the Misaki Park Stadium in the AFC Champions League Elite group stage on Wednesday. The hosts got their campaign underway with a win last month while City suffered a defeat.
Kobe head into the match on a five-game unbeaten run. They extended their winning streak in all competitions to three games with a 2-1 home triumph over Shimizu S-Pulse last week. They conceded in the first half and scored twice after the break to complete their comeback as Gōtoku Sakai scored a stoppage-time winner.
The visitors met Sanfrecce Hiroshima in their AFC Champions League campaign opener last month and suffered a 2-0 home loss. Melbourne City will now play their first competitive match after that loss.
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Vissel Kobe vs Melbourne City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams will meet for the first time.
- Kobe have met Australian teams twice and have a 100% record in these games. They met the Central Coast Mariners last season and registered a home win in the group stage of the Champions League.
- City, meanwhile, are winless in their three meetings against Japanese teams thus far.
- The hosts have kept clean sheets in four of their last five games.
- Melbourne City had won two of their six games in the group stage of the 2023-24 Champions League, with both wins registered away from home.
- Kobe had a 100% home record in the Champions League last season, keeping three clean sheets in five games.
- The hosts have seen under 2.5 goals in nine of their last 12 games in all competitions.
- City have lost their two competitive games since July, failing to score in both.
Vissel Kobe vs Melbourne City Prediction
Ushi are unbeaten in their last five games, scoring 10 goals while conceding once. They have scored seven goals in their two meetings against Australian teams and will look to build on that form.
City have lost their last two competitive games with a scoreline of 2-0 and will look to improve upon that record. They have failed to score in two of their three meetings against Japanese teams.
Considering Kobe's current form and 100% record against A-League teams thus far, we back the hosts to register a comfortable win.
Prediction: Vissel Kobe 3-1 Melbourne City
Vissel Kobe vs Melbourne City Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Vissel Kobe to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
Tip 4: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
