14:00 Consadole Sapporo vs Shimizu S-Pulse at Sapporo Dome – S-Pulse Get Back to Winning Ways?
Shimizu S-Pulse – Alex Brosque is suspended. DF Yoshida will need a fitness test.
3 wins for S-Pulse and one draw in four meetings.
Consadole were hit for seven last weekend by a rampant Gamba Osaka and are slowly edging nearer to the mathematical certainty of relegation, while Shimizu S-Pulse also lost last week – ending their mini-revival – beaten by an efficient Urawa Reds, at home, but missing most of their defence. Jong-a-Pin will be back at centre back – a great season for him so far – and he will make all the difference.
While S-Pulse will miss Alex Brosque through suspension Omae and Takagi are scoring goals again and new centre forward Kim looks good to hit the target soon so Consadole can expect another pasting. And, of course with the S-Pulse defence back to full strength, or close to it – Lee also being available again after suspension, Sapporo will find it hard to score, but they are used to that by now. Brazilians Ramon and Tele do not seem good enough to make an impact – perhaps in J2 next season?
EXPECT a WIN for SHIMIZU S-PULSE!
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18:00 Urawa Reds vs Omiya Ardija at Saitama – Reds to Take the Saitama Derby in Style?
Urawa Reds – all players seem to be fit for selection except slight doubts on MF Kashiwagi, and MF Naoki Yamada who is out for the season.
Omiya Ardija – MF Murakami and FW Shimizu both injured.
10 wins for Reds, 6 for Ardija and 4 draws since 2005 in J1 and the Nabisco Cup, but note that Ardija have won the last two J1 meetings!
Anything can happen in a Derby, especially a Saitama Derby but surely home advantage, two wins in a row, and riding high ready to attack the top spot means Urawa Reds know that they MUST win this one – and games like it, against teams at the bottom – to have a chance of taking the Championship. While Reds have had trouble scoring freely, they DO have the players and the likes of Ugajin have been chipping in with goals recently to take the pressure off mis-firing forwards. If the goals continue to come from everywhere, the points will follow!
Omiya Ardija shocked everyone with an away win two weeks back at FC Tokyo, but have lost four games around that one and have dropped into the bottom two with a goal difference of -20! With the likes of Gamba showing major improvement, and Albirex knocking out an away win at Kashima last week nothing less than a win will be enough for Omiya Ardija and, unless the likes of Cho and Hasegawa are up to scratch to support the improving play of Carlinhos in midfield, I can’t see a win coming their way. They must be wondering what possessed them to allow Ishikawa to move to Sanfrecce Hiroshima now! They have conceded 12 goals in their four most recent defeats, apart from that 1-0 win at Tokyo and MUST tighten the defence and score more goals. A tough ask for a team in trouble.
EXPECT a WIN for URAWA REDS!
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18:30 FC Tokyo vs Yokohama F.Marinos at Ajinomoto – A Tough Call – Go For a Draw!
FC Tokyo – MF Otake out for the season, DFs Ota, Jang and Hiramatsu out for a few more weeks each, MF Hanyu may be set to return but needs match fitness. FW Edmilson joined the list with a hamstring injury.
Yokohama F.Marinos – DF Amano out for the season. MF Ogura out for a month.
Head to Head – 9 wins for Marinos, 8 for Tokyo and 4 draws since 2003.
FC Tokyo had a dire run and looked in danger of slipping into the relegation zone up until a shock win away at top team Sanfrecce Hiroshima on a 49th minute goal from no.49 Lucas pulled them out of their funk, perhaps! They have been beset by injuries all season, as well as the absence of players at London 2012, and have rarely played the same XI all season. Edmilson joined the growing injury list last weekend and, even including their win last week they have scored just four goals in their last five games so will be hoping for more in that department. Lucas is an amazing talisman and with him on the field there is always the chance of something happening.
Yokohama F.Marinos, on the other hand, had an excellent run of unbeaten games before finally slipping to an away loss at Cerezo Osaka last weekend, where they were outplayed and outshot by a team who had struggled all season. Was that the bursting of Yokohama’s bubble, or just a temporary knock? Shunsuke Nakamura has been an inconsistent shadow of his former self often, even in the winning run, while Yuji Ono has rarely shown the spark that got him noticed by so many, so young, last season. Oguro and Marquinhos are inconsistent at best but do get the goals that matter now and again. I feel that Marinos have been overachieving in the last few months and last week was the beginning of their demise!
EXPECT a WIN for FC TOKYO!
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19:00 Vegalta Sendai vs Kawasaki Frontale at Yurtec – Sendai to Show Their Pedigree, Frontale Falter Again
Vegalta Sendai have no injuries or suspensions to report.
Kawasaki Frontale – DFs Saneto and Morishita and MF Rene Santos are injured.
5 wins for Frontale, 2 for Sendai and 3 draws between these two teams in the last decade or so.
Vegalta Sendai were back to winning ways last week – after going behind against Omiya Ardija – and, with Sanfrecce failing to win again are still easily within grasp of the top spot.Three draws and a loss in their previous four games before last week’s win are not the results of champions, but they are still only two points off the top and back in a winning mood. Wilson may be have eventually settled in after a slow start, but he had hit a barren patch, until last week’s return and he must put the chances away, along with Akamine, if Vegalta are to continue their challenge for the top and not fall away in autumn, as they did last season.
Kawasaki Frontale have had a few injuries, especially in defence, and new players are not yet fully settled – including the Kazama brothers – sons of the manager! Hopefully they will be playing because of form and not because they’re the boss’s boys! The team has not won in four games and find themselves in 12th place now, with little to play for unless they put a winning run together. Even worse, if they don’t pick up points in the next 4 or 5 games they may find themselves fighting off relegation as teams like Cerezo, Gamba and, perhaps, Albirex improve.
EXPECT a WIN for VEGALTA SENDAI!
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19:00 Kashima Antlers vs Vissel Kobe at Kashima – Vissel to Push Antlers Toward the Drop Zone!
Kashima Antlers – DF/MF Koji Nakata will be out for at least another month. DF/MF Yamamura will be out for approximately 3 months. MF Shibasaki is suspended.
Vissel Kobe – DF Soma is suspended, while his natural replacement at left back – Hayashi is out for the season after an injury this week. Okubo is also undergoing tests.
10 wins for Antlers, just 3 for Vissel and 5 draws in the ten seasons.
Kashima Antlers have lost three out of the last four matches and are slipping closer to the drop zone – a major cause for concern, especially with the likes of Gamba, Cerezo and Albirex improving, a loss here today, coupled with other results not going their way would see Antlers in trouble, with confidence low. This is a must-win game, which probably adds more pressure to the team, and may work against them. Unhappy home fans may also go against them. The youthful exuberance of Shibasaki and Yamamura will be missed and the forwards are mis-firing – just three goals in the last four games – and the likes of Osako, Koroki or Dutra must find the net in this game.
Vissel Kobe are a work in progress and have a three game unbeaten run to protect going into this game. A win over high-flying Reds was three points well-earned, and a home draw against Sagan Tosu may even have been viewed as a disappointment. A win for Vissel today would – depending on other results, of course – see them enter the top ten on a run of form that could see them continue up the table with a big finish. Having said that, the fans and management would probably be happy with a mid-table finish and a consolidation of their J1 place while planning ahead for an assault on a top 3 finish in 2013. Hence no pressure today? That could be the key point that will earn them at least a point.
EXPECT a DRAW!
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19:00 Albirex Niigata vs Cerezo Osaka at Tohoku Den – Cerezo to Pull AWay from the Bottom Three?
Albirex Niigata – MFs Kim, Nakamura and Ichida, and FW Suzuki are all long-term injuries.
Cerezo Osaka relived manager Soares of his duties and re-hired Levir Culpi on a contract until the end of the J.League season only! His job will be to stay in J1, that’s all! The team report no injuries and have no suspensions.
5 wins for Cerezo, 3 for Albirex and 4 draws since 2003.
Albirex Niigata have been somewhat of an enigma recently, away wins at Tomyo and Kashima bringing them much-needed points in their two wins from the last five games, but a team that has scored just 16 goals in 23 games is surely heading for trouble. No goals will mean no points in this match because Cerezo have notched 11 goals in their last four games and are back at full strength with the return of their Olympic trio. With Yamaguchi, Ogihara and Kakitani on fine form, and Olympian Sugimoto waiting in the wings, things are improving for Cerezo – at least until they lose another player or two to Europe in January!
Cerezo have fired Soares and called upon Levir Culpi to return with the express target of keeping a J1 place. Nothing else. Emperor’s Cup doesn’t matter to the team. J1 is all! Culpi’s contract is until December 2nd, and only then will the team will for 2013. Expect a fine performance by the players for their returning mentor, especially after the confidence-boosting win over a long-unbeaten Marinos last weekend, and Albirex will continue their struggle for goals, which means only one thing ….
EXPECT a WIN for CEREZO OSAKA!
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19:00 Jubilo Iwata vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Yamaha – A Draw For These Two, Good News for Reds and Vegalta?
Jubilo Iwata – GL Kawaguchi and MF Matsuoka out for the season, MFs Baek and Rodrigo Souto are new additions to the injury list. DF Cho, MF Yamamoto and FW Han out injured.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima – Mikic out for at least one month.
9 wins for Jubilo, 6 for Sanfrecce and 3 draws in 18 meetings in the last decade or so.
Jubilo Iwata have been hit by injuries to what I think are key players. Baek has ligament damage and may be out for the season now and I feel he was the catalyst to Jubilo’s improved season after their average start. With Rodrigo Souto and Yamamoto also missing and the possible replacement for any midfield problem being Matsuoka- also out for the season – Jubilo resources are stretching thin. Yet still they confound, score goals, earn points from unexpected sources and sit pretty in 4th place after successive wins against Cerezo and Reysol in their last outings. If Maeda keeps scoring, Jubilo will keep winning – simple, but they need to stop falling victim to injuries!
Sanfrecce Hiroshima have lost two in a row at home – against Tokyo and S-Pulse, but won their last two away – albeit against lowly Albirex and Ardija – but will miss creative midfielder/winger Mikic, who has been laying on the chances for Sato to put away with regularity. Jubilo may be high scorers but they have also conceded 35 goals and, with Sanfrecce hitting the target often, if they can get over the loss of Mikic we may well have a high-scoring game here, but I can’t call a winner!
EXPECT a DRAW!
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19:00 Nagoya Grampus vs Kashiwa Reysol at Mizuho – Grampus to Kill Off Lingering Title Hopes of Reysol?
Nagoya Grampus – MF Danilson is out for a few weeks. MF Isomura is along term injury. FW Kennedy is still not recovered from a long-term injury, with no news from the club on progress.
Kashiwa Reysol – DF Kondo and MF Jorge Wagner are suspended
7 wins for Grampus, 4 for Reysol and 4 draws since 2003.
Nagoya Grampus pulled off a semi-shock last week after three losses out of four – Consadole, Gamba and S-Pulse had taken maximum points of them recently – by getting the only goal of the game away at Kawasaki Frontale, thereby arresting an alarming slump that has seen them drop to 8th – albeit only 2 points off 4th place or just 8 points to the top – such is the tightness of J1, as is often the case. Josh Kennedy is apparently back in training, and has been missed, not necessarily for his goals, but for the way he gives space, and chances to the others around him. With Nagai back from London 2012, Tamada back from injury and Kennedy getting there, we may well see a big run-in for the end of the season from Grampus, but they’ll need to win games like this – both ensuring that Reysol doesn’t pull away and keeping Grampus in with a shout for the top.
Kashiwa Reysol were comprehensively beaten – at home – albeit down to ten men early in the game, bu Jubilo Iwata last week. The likes of Jubilo, Grampus, S-Pulse et al must be beaten if a team wants to make a late surge for the top of the table, so this game is almost a six-pointer in that respect. Kondo and Jorge Wagner will be missed and a newly-resurgent Nagoya should be able to rouse themselves enough here to get at least a draw! There is a little needle between the teams and Leandro Domingues may get would up by Dragan Stojkovic if the Grampus coach starts shouting his opinions – could be fun!
EXPECT a DRAW!
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19:00 Sagan Tosu vs Gamba Osaka at Best Amenity – Gamba Continue the Revival!
Gamba Osaka – GK Kimura, DF Nakazawa are out with broken legs. FW Kawanishi is working hard to return from a broken leg but not yet match fit. RBs Kaji and Eduardo both injured!
Sagan Tosu – DF Kitani has been injured since early season and out for at least another month.
An away J1 win for Sagan earlier this season is the only previous meeting between these teams.
Gamba are – finally – on a roll and have moved out of the bottom three on six goals in five games from Leandro, and Sato continuing to hit the net and riding high at the top of the scoring charts, close to his Sanfrecce namesake. Even Konno has got in on the act, scoring his first two goals for Gamba in successive games as the team have gone 3 wins and 2 draws in their last five games. Gamba also seem to have found a right back to cover for the injured duo of Kaji and Eduardo – Iwashita has looked comfortable there since his arrival from S-Pulse.
Sagan Tosu are notoriously strong defensively, especially at home – they have the best defence in J1 right now, but have only scored 26 in their 23 games. They have won a few low-scoring games and kept away attacks at bay, but with Gamba in free-scoring mode – 12 in their last two games – will Sagan’s home defence finally be breached multiple times? I think it will be and I think we can . . .
EXPECT a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA.
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