Urawa Red Diamonds will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the J1 League when they welcome Kawasaki Frontale to Saitama Stadium 2002 on Saturday.
The hosts played out a 0-0 draw against Yokohama FC in their last league match, which was enough to see them move into fourth place after the visitors in this match pulled off a 1-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima on the same day.
Match preview
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Urawa Red Diamonds earned a 1-1 draw against Shimizu S-Pulse in an Emperor Cup fixture in the week that saw them just about manage to clinch the top spot in an incredibly closely-contested group where three teams finished on the exact same tally of eight points.
With that result, the Red Diamonds are now unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions, including five wins and four draws, and they have also not lost any of their last six in the league, winning three and drawing three.
Having been a defender in his playing career, it is unsurprising that Maciej Skorza has built his side on the foundation of a solid defence, and it has paid off for him so far as his side boasts the best defensive stats this season, conceding only 12 goals in 16 league matches.
However, their defence-first approach has been necessary as they are also the joint lowest-scoring side of any in the top half of the table with 20, which is the same tally that their opponents have managed, and they are down in ninth place.
The hosts will come into this match with great confidence as they have got the better of this opponent in recent times, beating them 2-1 in the J-League Cup last month, thereby remaining unbeaten in their last four meetings dating back to March 2022.
Meanwhile, Kawasaki Frontale are a long way from the side that finished the last three seasons in the AFC Champions League automatic qualification spots and find themselves in mid-table at the halfway point of the season with 24 points, 11 behind Nagoya Grampus in second place.
However, Toru Oniki's side showed incredible spirit after going two goals behind against Shonan Bellmare in the J-League Cup last weekend and came back in the second half to clinch the tie 3-2 with goals by Tatsuki Seko, Shin Yamada and a stoppage-time winner from Daiya Tono.
With that win, the visitors have built up some momentum with four wins in a row in all competitions ahead of this match, scoring nine and conceding five in that time.
While that comeback win would have given them a huge confidence boost, going two goals down against the side second-from-bottom in the league perhaps underlines their major issue this season, which has been their form on the road.
Kawasaki Frontale have lost their last two away league matches, both by a scoreline of 2-1, and have recorded just four wins in eight league outings, which is well below what Oniki would have been targeting at this stage of the season.
Team News
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Considering his side's defensive strength this season, Skorza will be reluctant to tinker with his backline too much, though Marius Hoibraten is at risk of picking up a suspension, currently on three yellow cards for the season.
Shinzo Koroki has gone five games without a goal, and having been substituted in each of his last three starts, Skorza may be tempted to hand Bryan Linssen a chance in the starting 11 for this one.
Hiroki Sakai will be forced to sit this one out after picking up his fourth caution of the season against Yokohama FC, which could mean that Takuya Ogiwara will start in defence as he did against Shimizu S-Pulse last weekend.
Shuto Tanabe, Jesiel and Marcinho will all miss out on this match as they continue to recover from their respective injuries.
Oniki announced an unchanged side in his last two league matches and having won both, it would come as little surprise if he opted for a similar setup in this one with Akihiro Ienaga, Taisei Miyashiro and Yu Kobayashi leading the line in a 4-3-3 formation.
Urawa Red Diamonds possible starting lineup:
Nishikawa; Ogiwara, Scholz, Holbraten, Akimoto; Ito, Iwao, Okubo, Sekine, Yasui; Koroki
Kawasaki Frontale possible starting lineup:
Kamifukumoto; Yamane, Ominami, Kurumaya, Noborizato; Wakizaka, Schmidt, Oshima; Ienaga, Kobayashi, Miyashiro
We say: Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1 Kawasaki Frontale
While the visitors have experienced a slight upturn in form in their last two matches, their away record leaves much to be desired. They have conceded two or more goals in four of their last six away games, while the hosts have scored two or more in four of their last six at home. We feel that the visitors will be handed their third consecutive 2-1 away defeat in this one.
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