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!?