Tag Archives: Kawaguchi

Previews

J1 Preview Nov.7th 19.00 – Shimizu S-Pulse vs Albirex Niigata at Outsourcing

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Team News
Shimizu S-Pulse – FW Kim is suspended. No reported injuries but FW Omae and DF Jong-a-Pin not 100%.
Albirex Niigata – DF Kawaguchi will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. MF Uchida is out long term.

Head to Head – 9 wins for Albirex, 8 for S-Pulse and 5 draws over 22 matches since 2004.

Match Preview – It seems many games in these final weeks will be must-win for one team or the other, none more so that Albirex Niigata in this battle of the orange! A loss for Niigata will see them fall further back in the race for safety, but they will find it hard against a team smarting from a Nabisco Cup Final defeat! Albirex are also without their ace keeper Higashiguchi, who has been the lynchpin of an excellent defensive record this season (if only they could score goals, too!).

As noted, Shimizu S-Pulse will want to bounce back from their cup final defeat and home advantage will only help them regain confidence. The team was an average age of just 23 in the Nabsico Cup Final, but the experience will only help them grow. They know that an ACL place is up for grabs and they are on form. They may even feel, if results go their way, a 2nd place or even the Champinship is still within reach. They won’t let that chance go. The fitness of Calvin Jong-a-Pin may be an issue, but they have the players to get around that if he doesn’t make it. They are starting games with many youngsters, but the experience they are gaining can only be good (average age of starting XI in the Nabisco Cup FInal was exactly 23!). EXPECT a WIN for SHIMIZU S-PULSE!

Previews

J1 Preview – Sat. October 27th – 17:00 Albirex Niigata v. Sagan Tosu at Tohoku Den Stadium

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Team News – Albirex Niigata – DF Suzuki is suspended. DF Kawaguchi will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. MF Nakamura back in training. GK Higashiguchi out for the season and more.
Sagan Tosu – DF Yeo will be out for the rest of the season.

Head to Head – Four wins for Albirex, to one for Sagan and no draws. Albirex’s wins were all in J2. Sagan won their previous J1 encounter earlier this season.

Match Preview –
Albirex Niigata look doomed to J2, and have done for a long time. A freak 5-0 win against Nagoya Grampus gave them 5 of their 23 season goals – just 18 goals in their other 28 matches is a pathetic haul which does not do their quite decent defensive record justice. Their goals conceded column matches top team Sanfrecce and they can expect to lose a defender or two to other teams if they do drop to J2 – which they will if they do not score goals against Sagan Tosu today – this could well be their last chance with Gamba and Omiya in decent form going into the final five games.

Sagan, on the other hand, have lost four of their last five after their bubble finally burst? They have dropped down to 9th and are mathematically still not safe from relegation! That won’t happen and they will have consolidated their J1 position in their debut season, the fans will not be complaining, but their season promised so much more just five games ago. They will be looking to end this bad run and it could be Albirex who feel the force today, especially without key defender Suzuki!! EXPECT a WIN for SAGAN TOSU!

In the Mix, Previews

J1 Preview – Jubilo Iwata vs Shimizu S-Pulse at Ecopa Stadium – Oct.6, Matchday 28

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Team News
Jubilo Iwata – FW Kanazono is close to return, but not this week? GK Kawaguchi also back in training. MFs Matuoka and Baek are long term injuries.
Shimizu S-Pulse – Only FW Takagi is reporting injured and may be fit for the bench after a hamstring injury.

Head to Head – Very even in 22 meetings since 2003, with 9 wins for S-Pulse, 8 for Jubilo and 5 draws.

Match Preview – A strange one here, Ecopa Stadium chosen as the home venue – probably because Jubilo expect a big S-Pulse away following and can make more money at a bigger stadium, but Ecopa is more the home of S-Pulse in many people’s eyes! So, home advantage lost here, for Jubilo and, with S-Pulse seeing off Vegalta Sendai last week, and vaulting up to within a point of Jubilo, the “away” team will be all fired up for the win to help them move above their neighbours for the first time in months, and have them ready for a final six game tilt for the top 3. Excellent incentive for S-Pulse to win, of course, but also JUbilo will not want that to happen and will pull out all the stops to make sure it doesn’t. Nevertheless, with Kim finally among the goals last weekend, and Jubilo missing their influential Korean, Baek, the blue half of Shizuoka may well be disappointed at the end of the day!
With S-Pulse slowly weeding out some dead wood, as well as moving Shinji Ono on – with the blessing of the club – the team have plenty of leeway in looking for a new foreign signing to replace the departed Brosque, and plenty of youngsters chomping at the bit to join the revolution. A top 3 finish will buoy the team towards big things in 2013 – and an ACL place, of course – and a win here will push them closer to overhauling Vegalta Sendai for that spot. EXPECT a WIN for SHIMIZU S-PULSE!

In the Mix, Previews

JSoccer Magazine J1 Preview Sept.22nd, Matchday 26 – 16:00 Jubilo Iwata vs Albirex Niigata at Yamaha Stadium

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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!

Previews

J1 Preview – Sept.15th -19:00 Vissel Kobe vs Jubilo Iwata at Kobe Universiade

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Vissel Kobe – DF Inoha is suspended. DF Hayashi is out for the season, MF Haneda is doubtful, but not in contention for selection anyway!?

Jubilo Iwata – MF Fujita is suspended. FW Kanazono still reported injured. GK Kawaguchi and MF Matsuoka out for the season. DFs Sakurauchi and Cho out. MFs Yamamoto, Baek and Rodrigo Souto all out injured.

8 wins for Jubilo, 7 for Vissel and 3 draws since 2003, Vissel winning both of the last two games 3-1, home and away!

Vissel Kobe lost narrowly, and probably deserved a draw, last time out at Kashima Antlers, and the team were probably disappointed with that. Then they lost in the Emperor’s Cup to lower league opposition, so plenty of players will have plenty to prove to their fans… another loss will be very upsetting for the Vissel faithful. The team are “only” nine points away from a 3rd place spot right now. ON the other hand they are also nine points away from a relegation spot – very middling. They will be looking to put on a final spurt in the last ten games with a view to finishing in the top 6. A tough call, but not impossible, they can then build on that in 2013 and become a championship-challenging team – or that is what the plan is! The likes of Ogawa and Morioka must mature together with the experience of Okubo and Kitamoto, blending together to make a real team. These are games that they must win if they are to gain the confidence to move up the table.

Jubilo Iwata remain in touch with the leaders, having held Sanfrecce Hiroshima to a draw last time out, and beating Kashiwa Reysol and Cerezo Osaka before that. Jubilo may be the top scorers in J1 this season, but they have conceded a lot, too – in fact one more goal than Vissel Kobe up to this game. Let’s go for a HIGH-SCORING DRAW!!

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.25th – 19:00 Kashiwa Reysol vs Jubilo Iwata at Kashiwa

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Jubilo Iwata – GL Kawaguchi and MF Matsuoka out for the season, DF Cho, MF Yamamoto and FW Han out injured. DF/MF Riki Kitawaki has been allocated number 28 and may be considered for selection soon.

Head to Head – 9 wins for Jubilo, just 3 for Reysol, and 3 draws since 2003, all in J1.

Kashiwa missed the influence of suspended midfielder Leandro Domingues last week and struggled to create chances, but I question their wisdom in bringing in Neto Baiano and leaving the likes of Sawa and Tanaka on the bench. Proven goalscorers, team players doing well, replaced by a player who was a complete failure in his previous stint in Japan. I can only presume that Reysol see a huge improvement since then and feel he is worth a place – I will reserve judgement for now.
This is certainly a HUGE game for both teams – Reysol have drawn their last three games after an impressive run took them up the table, while Jubilo have been inconsistent lately but still cling to 6th place, just two points behind Reysol. Jubilo have won only one in their last four but remain J1 top-scorers, unfortunately they are 4th worst in defence, having conceded 35 goals. Japan national team forward Maeda scored two late goals to get all three points for Jubilo against Cerezo last week and will be looking to consolidate his position in the Samurai Blue ahead of the World Cup 2014 qualifier against Iraq
Reysol are only two goals behind Jubilo in the scoring stakes so perhaps we can expect a HIGH SCORING DRAW here today!?

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.18th – 19:00 Jubilo Iwata vs Cerezo Osaka at Yamaha

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Jubilo Iwata – 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, DF Cho out for at least another two weeks. FW Han out for a month or so.

Cerezo Osaka – MFs Yamaguchi and Ogihara and FW Sugimoto have returned from Olympic duty.

7 wins for Jubilo, 6 for Cerezo and 2 draws since 2003 – all in J1, of course. Jubilo have never been relegated.

Jubilo are suffering from a long injury list and are starting to tire and drop points when they really would like to be winning games. Influential Korean MF/FW Baek will be back from the Olympics and I feel he is a key man in the machine at Jubilo and may help turn things around for them but they must tighten up their defence – outside the bottom three they have the worst defensive record in J1. Having said that they have scored almost two goals per game on average so expect goals one way or another! They have won just one of the last five, and that was against bottom club Sapporo, and, if they are to stay in touch with the top 3 this is a must win for them.

Cerezo Osaka have been hit from all sides this season and must be wondering what they have to do to keep a fixed team. With Yamaguchi and Ogihara at London 2012 and Kim and Kiyotake shipped out, they have been playing with an entirely new midfield for the last few games and it’s only due to some timely goals from Kakitani that they are not deeper in trouble. The player, who signed with Cerezo before he was ten years old, but then spent the best part of three seasons at Tokushima Vortis developing his game, returned just in time to help the team get over the losses of Kagawa and Inui, and then saw Ienaga, Kim and Kiyotake also leave the team. He is the man to watch, a rising star, but how long will Cerezo be able to hold onto him? Jubilo injuries and players returning to Cerezo will swing it towards a WIN for CEREZO OSAKA!

Previews

Kawasaki Frontale v. Jubilo Iwata – PREVIEW – May 3rd

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Kawasaki Frontale v. Jubilo Iwata – Stalemate for Frontale and Jubilo?

Kawasaki Frontale – DF Jeci is missing for at least two more months.
Jubilo Iwata – DF Chiyotanda still expected to be missing. GK Kawaguchi out long term.

Kawasaki Frontale (P8 W3 D1 L4 GD -3) failed to win under new coach Kazama at home last time out, capitulating 4-1 to in-form Sanfrecce Hiroshima and their captain, and leading goalscorer Hisashi Sato. The new coach decided to put Inamoto at centre back for the first time but that obviously did not work, but he will still be missing DF Jeci so needs to find something to cover the back line better than last time. Kengo Nakamura will have to lead this team out of the doldrums but will he be able to do it all alone? The team that was one of my tips to struggle this season WILL continue to struggle with this set of players.

Jubilo Iwata (P8 W4 D2 L2 GD +2) were another team I did not expect to do well this season and I still feel they are in a false position and will be found out soon, but probably not against Kawasaki Frontale. Cerezo Osaka opened them up like a plastic can last time out and a decent forward line will not have a problem against this defence, especially without veteran goalkeeper Kawaguchi. Perhaps we are in for a low-scoring draw?

For Frontale the likes of Renato might have a set play in them but do not have the guile and effort to be a force in J1 all season long. Expect a DRAW!

Seven wins each, and two draws over the years, very even.