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Vissel Kobe vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Home's Stadium 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Vissel Kobe – MF Tanaka is suspended. FW Yoshida undergoing tests, DF Hayashi out for the season.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima – no suspensions,

Head to Head – 9 wins for Sanfrecce, just 2 for Vissel, and 4 draws since 2004.

Match Preview – Vissel Kobe simply need a win to save themselves. A draw would see both Gamba and Albirex able to overtake them with a win. If Cerezo, one place above Vissel lose, it would allow Vissel to overtake them . . . plenty of permutations and Vissel have their fate in their own hands, unlike Gamba and Albirex below them. Tanaka is suspended while Sanfrecce have no suspensions or injuries or . . . anything to play for!

Sanfrecce clinched the Championship last week and could well be hungover, or just simply unmotivated. Either way Vissel fans will be hoping for an underpar Championship-winning team to visit! Vissel have previous experience in surviving on the final day and this could stand them in good stead for this huge game. Vissel fired coach Nishino two games back and caretaker boss Ryo Adachi won the first match in charge (again – he also took over Vissel temporarily earlier in the season when coach Wada was moved on!) but went down, narrowly, to Kashiwa Reysol, with ten men for the best part of the game, and now find themselves with this final big match to finish off the season, again! This is tough to call but I think we should EXPECT a DRAW – which may still not be enough for Vissel!

Previews

Cerezo Osaka vs Kawasaki Frontale at Nagai 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Cerezo Osaka – MF Yamaguchi is suspended. MFs Yoshino and Maruhashi are injured.
Kawasaki Frontale – DFs Jeci and Komiyama injured, DF Morishita is back from injury but not match fit, no suspensions.

Head to Head – 5 wins for Kawasaki, 3 for Cerezo and 2 draws in 10 games since 2005, but Cerezo have not won since early 2006.

Match Preview – Cerezo Osaka are in trouble – not as much trouble as the two teams who will be trying their best to overhaul them of course – but, after bringing in Levir Culpi to save their J1 status, presuming they were safe after three 3-2 wins in-a-row, offering the Brazilian a contract to manage them next season, they have gone five matches with just two points to show from them and they can still drop to J2 with wins from Gamba and Vissel and a loss today for the pink half of Osaka! Last week they were destroyed by Sanfrecce, who clinched the Championship with their 4-1 win. They’ll be without three midfielders and under pressure in front of a nervous crowd.

Kawasaki Frontale have had an inconsistent season of ups and downs. A good start, and then good and bad spells from coach Kazama’s team have frustrated fans and team alike but they are now on a good spell to end the season – three wins in a row and ten goals in their last four games – and are hoping to finish the season on a high. A win for Frontale could, depending on results around them, see them finish in the top 6, a great incentive to finish off the season in style! EXPECT a WIN for KAWASAKI FRONTALE!

Previews

Jubilo Iwata vs Gamba Osaka at Yamaha 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Jubilo Iwata – no suspensions, MF Matsuoka injured, but MF Baek reported as recovered but still doubtful to start.
Gamba Osaka – DF Iwashita is suspended. GK Kimura is back in training after a broken leg. DF Kaji and FW Sato out for the season.

Head to Head – 9 wins for Gamba, 7 for Jubilo and 4 draws in 20 meetings since 2003.

Match Preview – While Jubilo Iwata haven’t won since a fortunate victory over Vissel Kobe in mid-September their J1 place was assured for 2013 on other results of the teams around them. The loss of Baek in their midfield has hit them big time and the team will be looking forward to a new season to restart. The home fans will be frustrated and loud in their final game – it may go against them. The Maeda curse may be in effect!! (Look it up!)

Gamba Osaka simply MUST win this game AND hope that two of Albirex, Vissel and Cerezo lose their games. Their injuries have finally cleared up and CB Nakazawa returned last week, just in time for the suspension of Iwashita. This game promises goals – Gamba are top scorers in J1 (believe it or not!), while Jubilo have hit 55 goals this season, the teams attacks have managed 121 goals between them. On the other hand these two teams have conceded 105 goals between them. Yes, that is 226 goals in 66 games! Jubilo Iwata have little to play for and are in a huge depression, Gamba have their survival to play for and, even a win does not guarantee safety, but they WILL go for it! EXPECT a highscoring WIN for GAMBA OSAKA!

Previews

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Omiya Ardija at Outsourcing 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Shimizu S-Pulse – DF Yoshida is suspended, MF Hattanda is doubtful with an injury.
Omiya Ardija – no injuries or suspensions.

Head to Head – 9 wins for S-Pulse, 4 for Ardija, and 5 draws since 2005.

Match Preview – Omiya Ardija have put a superb run together and are now safe in J1 for another season of struggle in 2013 – or are they? Will they finally improve next season or will they mess it up, again? Survive, and shoot themselves in the foot! Many fans feel that the biggest improvement has been Komoto at centre back and, if all is well he will hold off the S-Pulse attack today, while the likes of Cho and Higashi finally live up to their potential! Another win against S-Pulse and the team can go out on a high for the season – unbeaten since two defeats to Sanfrecce and Vegalta way back in August – and try to build on that.

Shimizu S-Pulse’s youngsters have buckled since the Nabisco Cup final defeat and seem to have given up the ghost going on recent results. Having said that, coach Afshin Ghotbi stated that their performance in the defeat to Kawasaki Frontale last weekend was one of their best in a long time but, nevertheless they have gone down to three league defeats in a row and are ending their season on a down. If the team stay together there will a decent season to look forward to but, for now, the team may well have their focus on the Emperor’s Cup? EXPECT a DRAW!

Previews

Albirex Niigata vs Consadole Sapporo at Tohoku Den 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Albirex Niigata – FW Michel is suspended, GK Higashiguchi and MF Uchida Consadole Sapporo are long-term injuries.
Consadole Sapporo – no suspensions, DF Osanai is out injured, MF Miyazawa is in training but would probably not be risked in a meaningless game?

Head to Head – 5 wins for Albirex, 2 for Consadole and 1 draw. Sapporo’s 2 wins both came in J2 in 2003, though!

Match Preview – it all comes down to this match and Albirex Niigata know they MUST win this match to have any chance of staying in J1. if they can win this and Vissel Kobe AND Gamba Osaka get anything less than wins then Albirex can leap frog those two teams and survive. A tall order but nothing is impossible in the J.League! The fact that they are playing the bottom team, long-relegated, nothing to play for, at home can only help, surely! Two away wins in their last four games has got them to this position, but it is two home defeats in those four games that have kept them down here. Is it a home jinx? Are the fans on their backs? Will the pressure be too much?

Consadole Sapporo have lost their last four, conceding 13 goals in that time and have only pride left to play for. Hang on, maybe they don’t have any pride left? We shall see! 27 defeats out of 33 games is soul-destroying for anyone and being away from home on the final day, they will have few fans to play for. I see a team playing out their final game trying not to concede more goals against a team that are under o much pressure to score, yet have manged only 20 goals in 32 games this season (discounting a freak 5-0 win in there somewhere). EXPECT a low-scoring DRAW and relegation for Albirex.

Previews

Yokohama F.Marinos vs Sagan Tosu at Nissan 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Yokohama F.Marinos – no suspensions, GK Enomoto is facing a fitness test.
Sagan Tosu – no suspensions, MF Yeo out injured for the season, but no other injuries reported.

Head to Head – Tosu won the only meeting so far between these clubs, 1-0 at home, earlier this season.

Match Preview – There is a LOT riding on this match for both teams. If Sagan Tosu win it they claim an ACL place for 2013 in their maiden season in J1 – an astonishing feat, with a team of players who are exactly that – a team – no stars, no primadonnas, just a great team. Apart from long-term injury victim Yeo’s absence they have no selection problems and must be confident after four wins in-a-row coming into this game.

Yokohama F.Marinos also have a final chance – slim though it might be – to qualify for the ACL. Their goal difference is better than the teams around them, and equal to Tosu’s so, if they beat Tosu they go above them. Then they must pray that Res and Grampus draw against each other and Reysol are also stymied by Antlers. Not THAT impossible to consider, actually. Sagan have been average away from home (or they could have been challenging for the Championship today!), so EXPECT a WIN for YOKOHAMA F.MARINOS!

Previews

FC Tokyo vs Vegalta Sendai at Ajinomoto 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
FC Tokyo – no suspensions, DF Hiramatsu and MF Otake are both long-term absentees and DF Nakamura is a new injury, at least 3 months out.
Vegalta Sendai – no suspensions, DF Uemoto is a long-term injury absentee.

Head to Head – 3 wins for Sendai, 2 for Tokyo and 3 draws stretched over ten years and just 8 meetings.

Match Preview – FC Tokyo haven’t won since their 5-0 defeat of bottom team Consadole four games back and have literally nothing to play for but their pride. They might gain a place if they win and S-Pulse lose but not a lot riding on this game for them. Having said that, they face a deflated Vegalta Sendai, who lost last week to a team seemingly headed for J2, and gave away the Championship. They will be deflated, depressed and away from home. They can not be caught by any of the teams below them so their position, and their prize money is already set. I am expecting a half-hearted performance from them today (if they were home it might be different) and A WIN for FC TOKYO!

Previews

J1 Final Day Preview – Urawa Reds vs Nagoya Grampus at Saitama 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Urawa Reds – no suspensions, DF Mizuta and MF Kashiwagi are both needing a fitness test, MF Naoki Yamada is in training but not match fit after six months out.
Nagoya Grampus – no suspensions, DF Abe, MF Alessandro Santos, FW Kennedy out injured.

Head to Head – 9 wins for Grampus, 7 for Reds and 5 draws since 2003.

Match Preview – Urawa Reds have slipped to 5th place as the final day approaches, with 3 losses in their last five matches, the fans will be disappointed if an ACL spot is not clinched, yet they have to win this – against a team also in the hunt for the ACL – AND rely on results around them, hoping that Reysol and Tosu do not win. It’s going to be a tall order to qualify for the ACL for Reds now but they will have home advantage and, if the fans are reasonable (comparing the last two seasons of relegation battles against this campaign) they may get full support of the crowd and pull through this one.

Nagoya Grampus have had a roller coaster season, up and down, injuries galore and have been consistent in their inconsistency! They had put a decent run together in the final weeks and were looking good for the 3rd spot when they slipped up against Antlers last week and that could well have put paid to their ACL chance. A draw is not good enough for them and, even with a win, like other teams, they have to wait and see what happens around them. They have suffered with the loss of Kennedy for many games this season and he is not expected back in this final match. EXPECT a WIN for URAWA REDS!

Previews

J1 Final Day Preview – Kashima Antlers vs Kashiwa Reysol at Kashima 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Kashima Antlers – no suspensions, MF/DF Yamamura is still out injured but back in training. FW Koroki is expected to be available.
Kashiwa Reysol – MF Barada is suspended, MF Mizuno is very doubtful.

Head to Head – 10 wins for Antlers, just 2 for Reysol, and 5 draws since 2003. Both of Reysol’s wins came last season in their Championship winning year.

Match Preview – Kashima Antlers now have nothing left to play for, having gained J1 safety last week due to an away defeat of Nagoya Grampus. Coach Jorginho will be looking for a win that could pull his team up a couple of players, but it would still not be as high as the fans would have expected. Will a Nabisco Cup win be enoughfor Jorginho to keep his job? We shall see. Koroki should be back from injury but Dutra is coming good, finally, and might benefit from being show the team has confidence in him by leaving him in the starting XI?

For Kashiwa Reysol this is a do or die match for a place in the 2013 ACL and, even if they win, they have to rely on Sagan Tosu not winning. Influential C is back and in form and the other decent Brazilian they have, Jorge Wagner, scored the match-winning goal against Vissel Kobe last week . . a big finish for this team and then they have to wait and see what happens in Tosu. EXPECT a DRAW anyway!

Nadeshiko, Previews

The Empress's Cup

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The Empress’s Cup All-Japan Women’s Championship got under way over the weekend with JFA Academy Fukushima among those advancing to the second round of the annual tournament.
　The JFA Academy edged Shizuoka Sangyo University Bonita 2-1 on Morita Umi’s 88th-minute winner. The Academy will next play Osaka University of Health and Sports Science.
　In other games, Fujieda Junshin High School beat Niigata University of Health and Welfare 3-1 and will meet Tokiwagi Gakuen High School in the next round.
　The second round will take place on December 1 and 2 when AS Elfen Sayama and Fukuoka J. Anclas of the nation’s top flight Nadeshiko League will join the tournament. Nadeshiko Challenge League winners Vegalta Sendai Ladies will also join from the second round, taking on Nihon Sport Science University at home in Sendai.
　The rest of the Nadeshiko League teams – including two-time champions INAC Kobe and runners-up NTV Beleza – will appear from the third round (December 8 and 9).
　The quarterfinals will be held on December 16 and the semifinals on December 22. The final will be staged on December 24 at NACK5 Stadium in Omiya.

From JFA.or.jp