Tag Archives: Kazama

In the Mix, Previews

J1 Preview Nov.7th 19.00 – Kawasaki Frontale vs Urawa Reds at Todoroki

Leave a comment

Team News
Kawasaki Frontale – MF Ohshima and FW Kazama will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. DF Morishita back in training but not expected to play yet.
Urawa Reds – MF Yajima will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty. DF Hirakawa doubtful, DF Mizuta out. MF Naoki Yamada in training but not yet fit after 6 months out.

Head to Head – 9 wins for Reds, just 4 for Frontale and 5 draws since 2005. Frontale have not won this game since 2009.

Match Preview – Urawa Reds must win this with S-Pulse on their heels for that 3rd ACL spot, while Kawasaki Frontale are also in a must-win situation, for fear of being dragged deeper into the relegation dogfight. Reds still lack a goalscorer, Genki Haraguchi has proved he is not that player, while Despotovic has not featured this season and must soon be on his way! Rumours of Reds approaching Davi of Kofu and Koroki of Antlers have surfaced this week, but any incoming player will be too late for this season.

Frontale are far from safe and another defeat will have their fans biting their nails for 2 or 3 more games yet, especially if Ardija, Gamba and Vissel get the right results. Surely not all of them will win, but I think this is a defeat for Frontale. Certainly, even 2 or 3 wins in their final games should not hide the fact that coach Kazama has problems somewhere – if he finds them, maybe a better season next year! EXPECT a WIN for URAWA REDS!

Previews

J1 Preview – Sat. October 27th – 19:00 Vissel Kobe v. Kawasaki Frontale at Home's Stadium

Leave a comment

Team News – Vissel Kobe – DF Lee is suspended. DF Iwanami will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty.
Kawasaki Frontale – MF Ohshima and FW Kazama will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty.

Head to Head – Five wins for Vissel, six for Frontale and two draws in 13 J1 games since 2005.

Match Preview – Vissel Kobe halted a losing run with two draws in their last two outings but have dropped into relegation danger, finding themselves just three points from Gamba osaka in the 3rd relegation spot of 16th. They’Ve had some bad luck with injuries, and suspensions have not helped, but a decent group of young players need to keep hold of that J1 place in order for coach Akira Nishino to be able to build a new dynasty, as he did with Gamba osaka a decade ago. Whether the likes of Ogawa and Morioka are a match for the young Endo and Hashimoto, that Nishino had at Gamba, is another matter, but they deserve a chance, and to do that they need to win this!

Kawasaki Frontale may sit in 12th position but two fortunate wins in their last five games put them in a false position and it is only four points above Vissel… 39 points is usually enough to consider a J1 position safe but anything can happen and, with the form of the teams below them, combined with a defeat here today, they MAY find themselves scrambling for point on the final day – stranger things have happened. They changed their team manager after a few weeks of the season and they may well need to be doing that again before 2013! They are inconsistent, wasteful in front of goal, and deserve little from this season. EXPECT a WIN for VISSEL KOBE!

Previews

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

Leave a comment

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.