http://osaka-cerezo.blogspot.jp/2012/10/crazy-kansai-derby-vissel-kobe-2-3.html
The view for a Cerezo fan on the Hanshin Derby last Saturday – Vissel Kobe 2-3 Cerezo Osaka … great comeback, vital win which drags Vissel down into the battle to save their J1 status!
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Sagan Tosu – FW Toyoda is a doubt, undergoing tests.
Kashiwa Reysol reporting no injuries except THREE goalkeepers! But top keeper is available!
2 wins each and 3 draws – all in J2 until this year’s 1-1 draw in J1, since Sagan entered the League in 2006.
Last year’s promoted team – Reysol – went on to win the title, to the surprise of everyone, including their own fans – probably! Anyone who admitted that they thought that Sagan Tosu were this year’s surprise promoted team was probably laughed out of town at the start of the season, but the J1 first-timers have more than held their own and now, despite having won only two of their last five, find themselves still in 7th and challenging for a spot in the ACL 2013. With the best defence in J1, Sagan Tosu continue to surprise us all and they know that a win here would take them above Reysol, maybe even into 4th spot with other results going their way. They may well be missing ace striker Toyoda, who would be a big loss, and Reysol appear to be at full strength so the game could go either way.
With the likes of Leandro Domingues, Kudo, Sawa and Jorge Wagner on form, the Reysol attack is a force to be reckoned with. A rampant attack up against a formidable defence? Something’s gotta give! I think it will be the Sagan defence this time and Reysol will roll out the goals.
EXPECT a WIN for KASHIWA REYSOL!
Nagoya Grampus – FW Nagai is suspended. MF Isomura out long-term.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima – MFs Nakajima and Mikic, and DF Hwang will be missing through injury.
6 wins for Nagoya, 3 for Hiroshima and 6 draws since 2004.
Nagoya Grampus took out Cerezo Osaka away last weekend, but the top team will be a different proposition altogether! With three wins in a row, and Josh Kennedy finally back on the field, the team will be quietly confident that they can make up the six points and attack the top of the division but a game against any team above them is a must-win if they are to have any chance of cancelling out their points deficit over the next two months in the final run-up. Nagai will be missing through suspension but, in Tamada, Kanazaki and Kennedy, Nagoya have more than enough firepower at their disposal, but does their defence have the organisational skills to hold back Sato, Takahagi and co?
Sanfrecce took the top spot by winning a vital six-pointer battle of the top two last weekend and will be confident that they can continue, as well as being under no illusions of what they have to do to keep hold of pole position as the final straight of the season looms! Mikic’s creation will be a big loss but Takahagi is doing his best to supply, and catch the eye of Zaccheroni at the same time, perhaps!? Sato just puts the goals in when given the chance, so Tulio and his crew at the back for Nagoya will have their hands full in this match. It’s well known that the team at the top of J1 are under the most pressure and reaching the summit often means the next match is lost – I am following that principle here today! Nagoya also will know that if they win this match they will be within four points of Sanfrecce!
EXPECT a WIN for NAGOYA GRAMPUS!
FC Tokyo reporting FWs Edmilson still doubtful, FW Hirayama possibly fit but not match fit by a long way, DF Ota is back in training and a possible to return. DFs Hiramatsu and Jang are long term injuries, as are MFs Kawano and Otake.
Kawasaki Frontale – Both Tanaka and Igawa are suspended. GK NIshibe is out, as are DF Morishita, MF Inamoto and FW Kobayashi.
No draw in this meeting since 2008, all three meetings until then were draws, since then 5 wins for Tokyo, 6 for Kawasaki.
FC Tokyo have a long injury list and it began to take its toll last month, contributing to a bad run that the team have now come out of, with wins against Sanfrecce and Marinos, as well as a draw away at S-Pulse in their last three games. With Lucas on form, Ishikawa fit and new boy Vucacevic finding the net last week, Tokyo will be on a high and looking to continue their run.
Kawasaki Frontale went down 2-0 to Kashima last weekend but found their way back into the game but are suffering from a dire run, not having won a game since late July and fans will be calling for the head of coach Kazama if they can’t put a run together and pull away from the relegation zone. 8 points clear of the bottom three might seem relatively safe, but 2 points in the last five games does not bode well, and if that run continues, the team will find themselves looking for a good result on the final day!
EXPECT a WIN for FC TOKYO!
Cerezo Osaka – FW Nagai has left the club, on loan, to Perth in Australia. MF Sakemoto is out injured.
Shimizu S-Pulse – DF Yoshida out, FW Takagi working on a hamstring injury but very doubtful.
Five games since S-Pulse won this one, with 6 wins for Cerezo, 4 for S-Pulse and 5 draws since 2004.
Despite a win against Marinos in his first game back in charge, and a vital six-pointer in the next game against Albirex, Cerezo coach Culpi now knows what he is up against and he must be aware that the team could still be dragged down into the relegation mire, especially if Ardija and Gamba continue to pick up points. A home loss to Grampus last time out put paid to the Cerezo revival and with rumours sweeping the team of the likely departures of Ogihara and Yamaguchi – joining a long line of players who have moved on in the last year or two – it can only get worse for Cerezo if they do not win this match.
Shimizu S-Pulse will be disappointed that they didn’t get maximum points last week against FC Tokyo, a couple of extra points would have taken them up to 6th, within touching distance of the top 3, or even the top spot. It’s still not an impossible ask, but three points from these kinds of games are now a must if they are to continue their slow rise back up the table.
Genki Omae is back in the goals, and new signing Kim has contributed everything but a J.League goal so far, it is his time! Coach Afshin Ghotbi has cleared out some of the players who were not part of the philosophy and is blooding the youngsters, like Ishige, slowly but surely. EXPECT a WIN for SHIMIZU S-PULSE!
Jubilo Iwata – DF Cho may be available for selection but GK Kawaguchi, MFs Baek, Rodrigo Souto, Matsuoka and Kitaji all unavailable.
Albirex Niigata – MFs Nakamura and Uchida, and FW Suzuki are all long-term injuries.
8 wins for Iwata, 4 for Niigata and 6 draws since 2004.
Jubilo Iwata were lucky to come out of last week’s match away at Vissel Kobe with a win, thanks in no small way to some help from the referee and are feeling the pressure from a list of injuries. It is surprising to many that they are still in with a chance of an ACL-qualifying top three place, although the top three seem to be locked in now. They should find it no problem against Albirex Niigata – a team that has scored just 17 goals all season, even less than bottom-dwellers Consadole! On the other hand their defence has been strong, but will be sorely tested against a rampant Jubilo, who average more than two goals per game and have won three out of their last four – despite all those injuries.
Maeda, for Jubilo, is looking to creep up on the goalscoring crown-to-be of Hisato Sato at Sanfrecce, and cement his place in the national team, while Albirex are just looking for another season in J1. A decent keeper, an Olympic defender, and some decent players all told are hampered by a total lack of firepower up front, with Bruno Lopes, Yano and Hirai, among others, totally failing in their duty.
EXPECT a WIN for JUBILO IWATA!