Team News – Kashiwa Reysol – MF Leandro Domingues is expected to miss this game, DF Kondo will be out at least a month. DF Yamanaka will miss the game on Japan U-19 duty.
Omiya Ardija – DF Murakami is out long term, FW Novakovic is doubtful, facing a fitness test.

Head to Head – Four wins each, and five draws in 13 meetings since 2005.

Match Preview – Kashiwa Reysol knocked off Sanfrecce last week and, in doing so, took themselves in to 4th spot, making it three wins in five. It’s been an up and down season, perhaps their entry into the ACL did not help, stretching their squad and causing inconsistency early on in the season. They will be missing Leandro Domingues – last season’s J.League Player of the Season – and it shows, although no complaints about the end result last game! Defender Kondo will also be a big loss but surely they will be strong enough to take out Ardija, especially as a win could take them into 3rd spot.
Omiya Ardija are a place and a point clear of relegation and hoping that they can get something from this game, while those around them slip up. Omiya have steered clear of the bottom three in recent weeks, with a five game unbeaten run, although the last three games have all been draws, while before that they had a 5-0 away win at Sapporo! Don’t expect five goals today, in fact EXPECT a WIN for KASHIWA REYSOL!