GW370 J1 League Report for Sorare (Patreon)

Intro

We have 2 games this GW:

For tomorrows game, im expecting there to be rotation for both teams.

For Sagan there are lots of players who are fatigued or injured. For Urawa, after there huge ACL win, there will also likely be some if not full team rotation. The manager has prioritised the league thus far and played a consistent team. What is unknown is how he tackles 3 games inside a week.

Urawa have a big squad and plenty of depth eg Linssen, Moberg, Iwanami, Kante, Schalk are all fresh and offer plenty of options.

I hope to get some hints from the press conferences later. With midweek GWs, I tend to take more risks eg I will likely play Scholz as he scores so high and if he does play it can be huge and worth the risk. I also have Inukai who I will play again knowing that team is an all or nothing line up.

The Friday game is a few days away, so I can only base it on the info at hand. Matsuki will not be available for Tokyo. He is flying out to Argentina with the u20 team to playing in the u20 World Cup. Takai for Frontale is also going to the u20 World cup and wont be playing (no cards but effects their lineup) .Noborizato hasnt been seen in training pics so at the time of writing is doubtful to play. I would try to avoid or only play in more speculative teams. Kawasaki are on a roll having won 3 on the bounce. They v likely keep to a similar side to last time around.

Predicted Lineups

These can also be found on Playsharper website here

Important to note the %s used here and where they are not above 75% it is because I feel there is some risk involved. My main aim with these is to show where risk/potential DNPs are lurking.

I base these %s on info I read from various sources including comments from the manager and reading a lot of local Japanese news coverage/message boards.

These are my own opinion of the situation at each team. I try to be as neutral as possible but we all have biases :) So always do your own research when making picks!

Urawa vs Sagan Tosu

Notes

• This team is Urawa strongest team. However, there is big rotation risk for this game and the % for each player is <50% certainty(havent been able to update playsharper)
• The noise coming out from Japanese media also reflects this.

• The team has done some light training and at the time of writing, im still waiting for the press conference.
• As an indicator of the second string side/cup side see below:

• I also see Linssen and Schalk in contention to start
• Nishikawa has always started in the the league and I see no reason for rotation in this spot and no indication from the manager thus far. This is a pretty unique scenario so he could get a rest too. I will personally play him
• I see players like Sakai, Koizumi, Koroki, Iwao, Ito as highest risk of being rotated. This is based on comments from them, their age and historically what has happened.
• It will be very to predict with confidence so as mentioned previously, picking the right SO5 team to enter  is going to be key. As I have other options, I wont be playing any Urawa players in my main teams and have thrown in Scholz and Inukai in separate teams that are more speculative.

Notes

• Rotation is expected for Sagan with players like Kabayama, Horigome and Tezuka all pushing for starts.
• Kikuchi has been playing as leftback. He has said he has been struggling a little but is willing and wanting to learn
• Ono left the pitch at half time - unsure if he has picked up a knock and my hunch is Kawata starts this game.

Odds

Prediction

Urawa may well be fatigued after the weekend but I still think they have enough depth in their squad to win this game especially at home. I do think the betting odds are too generous for Urawa and arent taking into account the ACL game.

Urawa 1-0 Sagan Tosu

FC Tokyo - Kawasaki Frontale

Notes

• Matsuki will be with the u20 squad so will not play this game
• Tokyo rotated alot of their players in the last couple of games. This was due to a very tight and busy schedule.
• I expect them to return to close to their "strongest" team for this game
• Nagatomo wasnt in the squad last game but there is no indication he is injured. I expect him to start.

Notes

• Takai will be with the u20 squad so will not play this game
• Kawasaki have won the last 3 league games
• Wakizaka and Schmidt have impressed in particular. The return of Kurumaya and Kamikumoto in nets has led to the team looking much more stable
• Noborizato was absent last game. I havent seen in training pics since that game so I wouldnt risk him if possible.
• Sasaki despite not being in the squad has been seen in training. He should come in at LB if Noborizato cant play. Tachibanada is another possible option here
• Segawa is back in full training and I have him being back on the bench for this game.

Odds

Prediction

Kawasaki are growing in confidence as a team. I see them winning here especially with Matsuki out and a defence that has looked vulnerable in the last few games.

FC Tokyo 1-2 Frontale

Finish

I hope found this useful!

As always these are just my own views on the situation based on research for each team.

There are press conference for the game tomorrow happening now will be updating the Discord Channel with any info I see that could prove useful all the way to deadline, so keep a look out for that

For Tier1 and 2 Patreons, I will be posting this week a scouting report looking at threshold players and calendar playing.

We also have J1 league games this weekend. I expect these to see teams return to their strongest lineups as less need for rotation after a weeks break for most teams!

If you have any feedback or queries, just give me a shout on Discord

Good luck!