Tag Archives: Ota

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!

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!

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.25th – 19:00 Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs FC Tokyo at Hiroshima Big Arch

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FC Tokyo – MF Otake out for the season, DFs Ota, Jang and Hiramatsu out for a few more weeks each, no news on FW Hirayama from the club, MF Hanyu may be set to return but needs match fitness.

Head to Head – 7 wins for Sanfrecce, just one for FC Tokyo and 5 draws since 2004, all in J1.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima sit atop the J.League four points clear of Vegalta Sendai, after the clubs around them all dropped points recently. Having said that, Sanfrecce themselves lost at home to S-Pulse when they topped the division two weeks ago so anything can happen with the “Curse of the Top Team” in J1! But FC Tokyo are seriously tiring and showing dire form right now, with fans seriously worried about them dropping into the relegation battle after such a good start to the season. A win for FC Tokyo here would settle the team, go some way to rebuilding shattered confidence and pull them away from a potential nail-biting final two months. But Tokyo are beset with injuries and inconsistencies and I can’t see them taking out a Sanfrecce riding high at the top, especially if Hisashi Sato – J1 top scorer – is allowed time in front of goal.
With five or six teams poised to challenge, if a decent run can be ut together, the fate of Sanfrecce’s Championship aim is in their own hands now and I can not see them losing today.
EXPECT a WIN for SANFRECCE HIROSHIMA!

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.18th – 19:00 Vegalta Sendai vs Kashiwa Reysol at Yurtec

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Vegalta Sendai – DF Kakuda is out for at least a month.

Kashiwa Reysol – MF Leandro Domingues is suspended. DF Fujita out for a month.

6 wins for Reysol, 4 for Vegalta, and just one draw in 11.

this is a BIG game for both teams. Kashiwa Reysol can continue their impressive rise up the table after their bad start – now just 5 points off the top, a win here will draw them level with today’s opponents and prove their credentials. A loss will allow Sendai to pull away from Reysol, but Reysol have drawn their last two, while Sendai lost to bottom club Sapporo last weekend, so both teams will be pulling out all of the stops.

Reysol will be missing influential midfielder Leandro Domingues to suspension and may well be settling for a draw by the time Sendai have pulled out all THEIR stops! If Akamine, Wilson and Ota can take their chances Vegalta could take this, especially with home support, but Sendai have not won in four games but still remain in 2nd place… will a draw be the best these two teams can do today? EXPECT a DRAW!

Reports

Sagan Tosu v. Vegalta Sendai – preview May 3rd

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Tosu to Hold the Top Club?

Sagan Tosu – Kim Min Woo is suspended. MF Takahashi out for at least another month.
Vegalta Sendai – Akamine still missing.

Vegalta Sendai (P8 W7 D1 L0 GD +13) are runaway leaders after eight games, SIX points clear of Sanfrecce and Reds and with a much better goal difference. The question everyone is asking is can they keep it up? Will there be another new name on the trophy at the end of the season? Time will tell, but the pressure will begin to grow for the top team as the season progresses. If Sekiguchi remains in form and Ota and Akamine keep putting away chances, it will be progressively harder for teams to catch Vegalta as they run away at the top.
Sagan Tosu are this year’s surprise team so far. In their first season in J1, they have confounded the critics and sit in 5th place, just two points off 2nd and do not look like the relegation contenders that many took them for this campaign. Last time out they held 2011 champions Reysol away from home and I think they can also hold the top team! EXPECT A LOW SCORING DRAW!

23 meetings between these teams, all in J2 so far, have produced only one draw! 13 wins for Sendai, nine for Sagan. This will be their first meeting in J1.

Reports

Albirex Niigata 0-1 Vegalta Sendai – April 28th

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For unbeaten Sendai, Akamine was out with a muscle strain so in came veteran Yanagisawa to partner Wilson upfront. The talking point came in the 6th minute when a cleared free kick fell to Naoki Ishikawa who deftly half-volleyed the ball home only to see the goal disallowed for an offside flag. The problem was that Daisuke Suzuki was blocking the keeper’s view – good to see the officials get the difficult and unusual decision correct.
It was Suzuki involved in the key decision of the game, and another talking point as, with minutes to go, the defender shoved Wilson in the back and a PK was awarded which the Brazilian duly converted to keep Vegalta well clear at the top of J1.
Albirex coach Kurosaki said the ref was “subarashii”, fantastic! Sarcasm in Japan, whatever next?!