11 wins for Tokyo, 7 for S-Pulse and 7 draws over the last decade.

Sandwiched between two legs of a Nabisco Cup semi-final, S-Pulse take on FC Tokyo having won the away game earlier in the season – their first win in ten against the capital club. S-Pulse are on a revival, after a dry spell mid-season and will want to continue their climb up the table in order to have a run at the top three, or even the top spot, so can not afford to drop points now, especially at home. They will also be looking to psychologically kill off their opponents before their return for that semi-final 2nd leg and the fans will be looking for any opportunity to barrack Tokyo’s Maruyama – who won a penalty lick in that first leg with a spectacular dive. The probable loss of Takagi to a hamstring injury will mean that new signing Kim, and Sho Ito – if given the chance – will need to produce the goods.

FC Tokyo will, on the other hand, feel confident, having won that first leg last week, and have beaten Marinos and Sanfrecce in their last two J1 games. A barren period has come to an end – fans were even concerned about dropping into the relegation dogfight, but it seems that has passed now, and the team can concentrate on rising in J1 and looking to a Nabisco Cup Final. Injuries have beset the team all season and a consistent team selection has not been seen but the players that are fit, and selected, know what they have to do! They just might not do it in this game – especially with one eye on the Nabisco Cup?
EXPECT a WIN for SHIMIZU S-PULSE!

Omiya Ardija – MF Higashi is back from the Olympics. MF Murakami out for at least two months. FW Shimizu is out for about one month.

10 wins for FC Tokyo, just 3 for Omiya and 1 draw since 2005. 2 of those 3 wins were in 2006 and 2007 for Omiya… form is with Tokyo.

Returning hero Higashi is back from the Olympics although he appeared to be carrying an injury in the final and may not be 100%. Carlinhos was suspended last week and returns so one will presume Ardija think they are in better shape than last week. Suffice to say, if they do not win and some of the teams around them win, Ardija slip deeper into trouble.

FC Tokyo have drawn with Reysol and Reds in the last two games, but lost to Niigata and Tosu before that. They have not won since five games back. They have an extensive injury list but will be looking for a win to ensure they do not get dragged into the relegation zone, which would be easy with a run of three or four bad results. This will be a catalyst to a WIN for FC TOKYO!

Abirex Niigata (P9 W2 D2 L5 GD -3) shocked Sanfrecce Hiroshima last time out in a game that appeared to be played by two teams under the weather, a case of bad Sanfrecce as opposed to good Albirex perhaps! Albirex have scored just fve goals in nine games this season, although have only conceded eight goals in that time … not much goal action for the Niigata fans so far but they’ll be happy with another 1-0 win, for sure. They will probably not get it, though.

FC Tokyo (P8 W4 D0 L4 GD -2) have gone on a downward slide after a good start and now sit in 10th place after losing four out of their last five J1 games. The capital team will be looking to halt that slide and Kazuma Watanabe will be expecting the start after a goalscoring ACL performance in midweek. Ishihara didn’t start the game in that ACL win so will be rested and ready to create or score as necessary. Expect the speedy FC Tokyo attack to unpick the lock of the stingy Niigata defence. Except a WIN for FC Tokyo!

Albirex have notched seven wins to FC Tokyo’s six, with two games ending in draws. Tokyo haven’t won in league play since doing the double over Niigata in 2008.

以下の２試合は、今週のACLゲームのため、６月27日（水）に予定されている。
ＦＣ東京 vs. 柏レイソル
ガンバ大阪 vs. 名古屋グランパス

Franca’s 2nd yellow card was a little more debatable, one of those that could go ewither way, depending on the referee, the opponents reaction, the crowd, and the view of the officials. Franca went up for the ball with arm swinging, caught his opponent in the face, who went down as if he’d been shot. The officials discussed it and a card was dispatched. Those go either way, today it went against S-Pulse. Until the goal (and his red card) FRanca had surely had the best chance as he found himself though on gaol with no defender in sight, but he delayed so much that by the time he was ready to shoot, he had defenders around him, and his shot was weak.
Tokyo sensed blood when S-Pulse went down to nine men but the home defence held out and then Takahara launched the counter attack that had Afshin Ghotbi and his bench dancing a jig, and gave S-Pulse maximum points!

ベガルタ仙台（勝点16勝５分１敗０得失点差＋８）はＪ１で唯一まだ負けがない。前節、Ｊリーグ覇者レイソルを相手に３-２の勝利をつかみ、自信を深めてこの一戦に臨んでくる。負傷者も出場停止者もなく、一貫したフォーメーションで戦えるのも強みだ。関口も点を取り、太田もベストの状態に戻っている。昨年度は、３月の震災後、チーム一丸となってのモチベーションの高いゲームを戦い抜いたベガルタだが、今年度は比較的楽に勝ち点を積み重ねてきている！
一方、ＦＣ東京（勝点12勝４分０敗２得失点差＋３）は、昨年の柏レイソルと同様、昇格後のＪ１での戦いを勝ち抜こうとしている。幸先の良いスタートの後、多少のつまずきもあったが、まだまだ今後への可能性を残している。今年はＡＦＣチャンピオンズリーグ初出場ということもあり、ペース配分にも気を配る必要がある。今週は北京を相手に楽勝し、メンバーの入れ替えも行っているので、疲労度はそう高くはない。しかし、両チームを見比べてみると、やはりホームの仙台が優勢。ベガルタ仙台の勝利か！

両者のＪリーグでの対戦はこれまでに５回。東京の勝利は2003年度の１回だけ。2010年度は、リーグカップを含めて３回対戦し、ＦＣ東京の１分２敗。