Kawasaki Frontale – GK Ando is with the Olympic team. DFs Jeci and Komiyama should be ready to return, but DF Morishita will be out for at least two months.
Omiya Ardija – MF Higashi is with the Olympic team. MF Murakami out for at least two months.

Ten wins for Frontale, eight for Ardija and five draws over the last decade

Kawasaki Frontale (10th – P18 W8 D3 L7 GD -3 Pts. 27) have slipped to 10th position and have not scored in their last four games – two 0-0 draws and two losses and will be looking to kickstart the 2nd half of their season before they slip into the relegation zone. Therefore playing against Omiya Ardija (14th – P18 W5 D 5 L5 GD -13 Pts. 19) is almost the proverbial six-pointer and could be the game that sees Frontale pull away from the bottom half and push Ardija back into the relegation dogfight. They WILL miss Higashi (in London) and we can EXPECT a narrow WIN for KAWASAKI FRONTALE!

Kashiwa Reysol – DF Fujita is out for at least two more weeks.
Cerezo Osaka – MF Yamaguchi is suspended AND with the Olympic team! MF Ogihara is with Olympic team and MF B K Kim is with Korea’s Olympic team. FW Kempes is suspended.

Four wins for Reysol, just one for Cerezo, and four draws, all in J1, since 2003.

Kashiwa Reysol (5th – P18 W9 D3 L6 GD +8 Pts. 30) out a fantastic run together – going from the lower reaches to within points of the top – before losing to Grampus two games back. They recovered and put five past S-Pulse last game, although being helped by red cards to the opposition! They won’t have as much trouble against Cerezo Osaka (15th – P18 W5 D4 L9 GD -5 Pts. 20), who are missing three key players to London AND have lost Kiyotake, of course. They have just two points and three goals to show from their last five games, and there is not much hope for them today, I feel. EXPECT a WIN for KASHIWA REYSOL!

FC Tokyo – GK Gonda, DF/MF Tokunaga and MF Yonemoto are all with the Olympic team. MF Otake is out for the season. DF Jang out for three months. MF Hanyu out for at least another month.
Albirex Niigata – DF Suzuki is with the Olympic team. DF Uchida out for the season. FW Suzuki out for three months.
Seven wins each and two draws over the last decade – all in J1 except for a solitary League Cup home victory for Tokyo in 2010.

FC Tokyo (7th – P18 W9 D1 L8 GD 0 Pts. 28) started well, let their ACL campaign get in the way, then suffered injuries to key players and now have players in London with the Olympic squad to add to the missing! They have lost three of the last four games but know they need to win this one, in front of their own fans, if they are to keep in touch with the top three.
Albirex Niigata (16th – P18 W4 D5 L9 GD -11 Pts. 17) have won two of their last five, all be it against Sapporo (1-0) and S-Pulse (when they scored the only goal of the game despite being under pressure for most of the match) but luck can not side with them all of the time and Tokyo will make the most of the fact that Albirex are also missing a key player to the Olympic squad in Suzuki! EXPECT a WIN for FC TOKYO!

Kashima Antlers – FW Koroki is suspended. DF/MF Yamamura is with the Olympic team. GK Sogahata is doubtful.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima – MF Hwang is with Korea’s Olympic team. MFs Yamagishi and Mikic are considered doubtful.
Eight wins for Antlers, six for Sanfrecce including a home win in J1 earlier this season, and three draws over the last decade.

Kashima Antlers (11th – P18 W7 D4 L7 GD +4 Pts. 25) have struggled to find a consistent run this season but have pulled away from the bottom after their terrible start. They have won their last two games by one goal, and drew two before that, but, again, only scored a goal in each game. They will need more than one goal against Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1st – P18 W11 D3 L4 GD +19 Pts. 36) if they are to win this one. Hiroshima hit the top of J1 – all be it on goals scored, having the same goal difference as Vegalta – and will be looking to stay there as we roll into the 2nd half of the season. Players are in form, not least striker Hisashi Sato – J1’s top scorer, and they will roll over Kashima today. EXPECT a WIN for SANFRECCE HIROSHIMA.

Vegalta Sendai – MF Sekiguchi is doubtful with a leg injury. DF Kakuda is out for at least a month.
Sagan Tosu – DF Kitani out for at least another month.

13 wins for Sendai, nine for Tosu with two draws. All meetings were in J2 until this year when Sendai won in the League Cup and the team drew at Tosu’s home.

Vegalta Sendai (2nd – P18 W10 D6 L2 GD +19 Pts. 36) have drawn three of their last four games and, consequently, slipped into 2nd position behind Sanfrecce, but are still level on points AND goal difference, only 2nd on goals scored. They should be able to take care of Sagan Tosu (8th – P18 W7 D6 L5 GD +4 Pts. 27) who let four in away to Reds two weeks back, before a narrow home win against FC Tokyo last time out. EXPECT a WIN for VEGALTA SENDAI.

Urawa Reds – MF Naoki Yamada is out for the season, while FW Popo is carrying a longstanding injury and is doubtful.
Jubilo Iwata – FW Yamazaki is with Japan’s Olympic team, FW Baek is with Korea’s Olympic team. GK Kawaguchi is out for the season. FW Kanazono is out for at least another two months. MF Matsuoka is out for the season. MF Yamamoto out for a month.

Reds have won 10, Jubilo seven, and five draws over last decade or so, but Reds have not win since late 2009!

Urawa Reds (3rd – P18 W8 D7 L3 GD +6 Pts. 31) are basking in-form, compared to their last two seasons and can probably only get better as they get even more used to new tactics from coach Petrovic. Their problem is goalscoring, like many teams in J1 this season, and they will be hoping that Genki Haraguchi – dropped from the Olympic team, will be looking to prove a point and become their goalscorer!
Jubilo Iwata (4th – P18 W9 D3 L6 GD +12 Pts. 30) HAVE scored goals – 38 to be exact – but also concede a lot. I think Korean Baek, with the Olympic squad in London will be a big loss – he is the catalyst or scorer of many of their goals since his arrival earlier in the season. EXPECT a WIN for URAWA REDS.

Consadole Sapporo – DF Kawai and FW Kondo are new additions to a long injury list. FW Maeda is back from injury and should be up for selection.
Nagoya Grampus – FW Nagai is with the Olympic team. FWs Kennedy and Tamada both out. MFs Nakamura and Isomura are both out for at least a month more each.

Only three previous J1 meetings between these teams and Nagoya have won every one!

Consadole Sapporo (18th – P18 W1 D1 L16 GD -31 Pts. 4) just get deeper and deeper into the mire and are headed for J2 without a doubt. Their injury list doesn’t help them but there are imcoming players – are they to stem the tide, or to plan for next season’s J2 campaign?
Nagoya Grampus (6th – P18 W8 D5 L5 GD +2 Pts 29) are missing their three strikers, unless there is a miracle recovery from Kennedy and, while a struggle to score might be a problem against most teams, it should not be a problem against a team that have conceded 42 goals so far this season. EXPECT a WIN for NAGOYA GRAMPUS.