Tag Archives: Hiramatsu

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

J.League J1 Matchday 32 preview – 17:00 FC Tokyo vs Vissel Kobe at Ajinomoto

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17:00 FC Tokyo vs Vissel Kobe at Ajinomoto – Vissel to Win Valuable Points

Team News
FC Tokyo – DF Otake out long term, MF Hiramatsu out for the season.
Vissel Kobe – DFs Hayashi out for sure, Soma doubtful. FW Yoshida facing a fitness test. GK Tokushige not expected to return this week.

Head to Head
Vissel Kobe have suffered 10 defeats and managed just 6 draws, NO wins in 16 meetings since 2003.

Match Preview
If one is realistic, FC Tokyo are one of the few clubs with nothing left to play for this season. They are five points and 6 positions away from an ACL-qualifying spot, and one point safe from relegation with three games to play. They’ll be playing for nothing but pride and bragging rights – and to keep their unbelievable record against Kobe intact – no loss in their last 16 meetings! Their injuries are clearing up, but too late to have any positive effect this season. The cull has begun already with the announcement that on loan striker Edmilson will not be returning in 2013.

Vissel Kobe, on the other hand, need at least one win in their final matches, perhaps more, to overhaul Omiya Ardija, or stay away from Gamba and Albirex. Last week they fired coach Akira Nishino who, it is rumoured, had “lost the dressing room”. The desperation of recent seasons saw Vissel take vital points in the final games, indeed on the final day, and their experience in fighting the pressure will help. They ARE desperate and so will have so much more motivation that their opponents today. Add to that the “new coach” effect or, in this case, the players playing for the man who they all know so well – Adachi, who took over for a few games when Wada was released earlier in the season, also. He began his short caretaker career then with two wins – can he do it again? Yes, he can! EXPECT a WIN for VISSEL KOBE! Their first in three months!

In the Mix, Previews

J1 Preview Nov.7th 19.00 – Nagoya Grampus vs FC Tokyo at Mizuho

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Team News
Nagoya Grampus – MF Taguchi is suspended. MF Tanabe and DF Sato will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. FW Kennedy has recurrence of back injury and not expected to be fit. MF Isomura is back in training after long injury break.
FC Tokyo – MF Hasegawa is suspended, MF Hashimoto will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. DF Ota and MF Kaga are back in training and could be selected. DF Hiramatsu and MF are long term injuries.

Head to Head – Since 2003 it’s 10 wins for Tokyo, 6 for Nagoya and 4 draws. FC Tokyo won the home leg of this fixture earlier this season.

Match Preview – A mid-table match-up? Or a couple of teams still with slim chances of ACL qualification? Either way I am not expecting too much from this one! Both teams have had injury-hit, inconsistent seasons with big wins and unexpected defeats and will be happy to start afresh in 2013, I am sure. The return of Kennedy seemed to boost Grampus, and he certainly creates space and chances for Nagai, but the Australian is injured again – a big loss, perhaps. Home advantage and the wrath of manager Stojkovic over recently lost points may well be the catalyst that gives Nagoya this match?

FC Tokyo – a win and a draw after some bad results recently have given FC Tokyo some impetus as the season draws to a close. They are safe from relegation and, who knows, a few wins in the final month could see them challenging for that 3rd ACL spot – a long shot but worth considering, and well worth them doing their best to win this as it would take them above today’s opponents, and there is some cash at stake too, depending on the finishing position in J1! Hasegawa is missing, suspended, but their injury list is clearing up. Players fighting for a new contract, perhaps, after injury-hit seasons, could pull them through this one – I’ll go for A DRAW though!

Previews

J1 Preview – Sat. October 27th – 17:00 FC Tokyo v. Consadole Sapporo at Ajinomoto Stadium

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Team News – FC Tokyo – MF Hasegawa is suspended, MF Hashimoto will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. DF Ota and MF Kaga are back in training and could be selected. DF Hiramatsu and MF Otake are long term injuries.
Consadole Sapporo – DF Kushibiki is suspended. MF Sakaki will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. FW Kondo is back in training but not match fit.

Head to Head – Three wins for Tokyo, just one for Consadole and a draw in only five previous meetings.

Match Preview – FC Tokyo find themselves JUST clear of the relegation zone in a season that promised so much. Just like Reysol, perhaps, they suffered from an ACL campaign stretching their resources, as well as a glut of injuries not helping. They have won only one in their last five, while their opponents today have suddenly found their shooting boots – winning one and drawing the other of their two games since relegation was confirmed. On 41 points, and with a goal difference of minus 4, FC Tokyo can not be said to have set the season alight and may find themselves below Cerezo Osaka by the end of the day.

Consadole Sapporo seem to have had a load lifted by being relegated – it can’t get any worse, it would seem and they have relaxed. They’ve also cleared a few of their injuries up and could / should be planning for a season in J2 already. That does not necessarily mean Tele and Ramon should be playing! I feel that Sapporo have relaxed a little and now feel no pressure, while FC Tokyo are in a slump, lacking confidence and cohesion . . . EXPECT a WIN for CONSADOLE SAPPORO!

In the Mix, Previews

J1 Preview – Kashima Antlers vs FC Tokyo at Kashima Stadium – Oct.6, Matchday 28

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Team News
Kashima Antlers – NO suspensions, the only injuries are Nakata and Yamamura – both long-term.
FC Tokyo – FW Hirayama is said to be ready to return, MF Kaga is out, DF Ota is doubtful, MFs Kawano and Otake, DF Hiramatsu are long term absentees.

Head to Head – Tokyo have not beaten Antlers since 2008 and just 3 times in total since 2003, with Antlers winning 10 and 4 games ending as a draw.

Match Preview – Kashima Antlers held Gamba Osaka to a draw away last time out but remain just 4 points away from the drop zone – in the shape of Gamba Osaka in 16th place – and will be desperate for a win here, at home against a slightly improving FC Tokyo. A loss for Antlers, especially with the form of those teams around them could spell trouble for the Kashima team but their only win in their last five was a fortunate three points against Vissel Kobe and they will be hard-pressed to pull out a win here against an FC Tokyo team that have won three of their last five and are looking to hit the top six, or even better, in the final games of the season. Some of the injuries that have affected the team are history and recent signing Vucicevic is settling in and getting among the goals – I think we should EXPECT an FC TOKYO WIN here!

In the Mix, Previews

JSoccer Magazine J1 Preview Sept.22nd, Matchday 26 – 19:00 FC Tokyo vs Kawasaki Frontale at Ajinomoto Stadium

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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!

Previews

J1 Preview – Sat. Sept.15th – 19:00 Shimizu S-Pulse vs FC Tokyo at Nihondaira

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Shimizu S-Pulse – DF Yoshida out, FW Takagi very doubtful with hamstring injury.
FC Tokyo – MF Hasegawa is suspended. The injury list includes DFs Ota, Jang and Hiramatsu, MFs Otake and Kawano, and FW Edmilson. FW Hirayama must also be considered doubtful.

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!