GW377 - J1 League Report for Sorare (Patreon)

Intro

We have 9 games this GW in the J1 league.

7 games are on Saturday with 2 on Sunday.

The full list including which are on Youtube are below:

There is more risk with the Sunday games in general as we wont get all the press conference and training news before the deadline.

Urawa and Hiroshima both played midweek and they have more rotation risk in general. 

Predicted Lineups

These can also be found on Playsharper website here . Also note that all the betting odds and lineup pics are taken direct from them!

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!

Injuries and Suspensions

The below are suspended or cant play this GW due to contractual reasons:

The below are the main new injuries and key players who are doubts and to keep an eye out on new info

Vissel Kobe vs Kawasaki

Notes - General

• Kobe are top of the league and are unbeaten in 7 games
• Yamakawa went off with an injury last game and is out long term.
• Honda, Sakai and Iino have all been seen in training but remain doubts for this game.

Notes - Last Game

• Beat FC Tokyo 3-2 at home. Kobe were 3-0 up at half time and despite the scoreline were comfortable winners
• Osako scored his 11th of the season and he and Muto linked up excellently again.
• 19 year old Ozaki came on for the injured Yamakawa and he may well get more gametime as Kobe are down to their barebones in defence.

Notes - This game

• Manager has said he will decide last minute on the fitness of Sakai and Honda.
• Outside the defence the team should remain the same in midfield and attack.

Notes - Key Players

• Osako
• Thuler
• Muto

Notes - General

• Were dominant in their 2-0 home win against Kashiwa
• Kobayashii started his first game of the season and impressed
• Marcinho is confirmed out for 3 months. Takai returns from international duty for the u20s but this game is likely too early for him.

Notes - Last Game

• Wakizaka and Schmidt returned from suspension and did well with Wakizaka picking up an assist.
• After 2 defeats in a row, this victory moved Kawasaki up to 9th
• Miyashiro caused problems for Kashiwa but again was let down by v poor finishing

Notes - This Game

• Oshima has started the previous previous 2 games in midfield. Seko and Tachibanada are fighting for a starting spot and hard to call who starts this game
• I expect Kobayashii to continue as striker after impressing last week
• Are unbeaten against Kobe in their last 7 encounters

Notes - Key Players

• Ienaga
• Wakizaka
• Yamane

Odds

FC Tokyo vs YFM

Notes - General

• Were blown away in the first half by an inform Kobe side. 
• Kashif is confirmed out for 5 weeks meaning that Tokumoto will continue at LB
• Matsuki is now back in Japan after international duty. He is unlikely to feature in this game

Notes - Last Game

• Kimoto was rested/dropped with Trevisan coming in.
• Diego scored his second penalty in as many games with Perotti getting the second

Notes - This game

• Abe and Higashi in particular were poor last game. I still have them starting but wouldnt be too surprised in the manager brings in fresh blood
• Kimoto should return however we have seen the CBs change regularly for Tokyo this season so that remains unclear.
• FC Tokyo are sitting in midtable and have been inconsistent this season. They have been particularly strong at home and only lost once

Notes - Key Players

• Slowik
• Koizumi
• Nakagawa

Notes - General

• Picked up there second 2-0 win a row against Fukuoka
• Currently sit second in the table, 3 points behind leaders Kobe
• Matsubara returns from suspension and should start as RB 

Notes - Last Game

• Lopes ended his mini draught in front of goal, scoring his first goal in 5 games
• Kamijima impressed at right back as he came in for the suspended Matsubara

Notes - This game

• Likely keep to their strongest team as no need for rotation. RB is the main area which is unclear who starts.
• YFM have only had 1 cleansheet away from home this season
• Yamane returns from the u20 world cup though unlikely to feature in this game.

Notes - Key Players

• Hatanaka
• Elber
• Eduardo

Odds

Shonan vs Niigata

Notes - General

• Shonan suffered their 5 defeats in a row. They are now second bottom and are winless in 8 games
• Yamada, Yamamoto, Ikeda and are out for this game with injuries
• Tachii is suspended after picking up a harsh red card vs Hiroshima

Notes - Last Game

• Played 80 minutes down to 10 men. Defended well and were unfortunate to give away a soft penalty late in the game.
• Ono or Okakamoto will replace the suspended Tachii. Cant rule further changes, in particular the striking partner of Machino has been changing frequently
• Ohashi is in training though unclear if hes fit enough to start/be on the bench

Notes - This Game

• Ono or Okakamoto will replace the suspended Tachii. Cant rule further changes, in particular the striking partner of Machino has been changing frequently
• Ohashi is in training though unclear if hes fit enough to start/be on the bench
• Are the only J1 team yet to have a cleansheet this season

Notes - Key Players

• Machino
• Ishihara
• Sugioka

Notes - General

• Are in poor form with just 1 win in their last 7 league games
• Deng. Hoshi and Ota are doubts for this game

Notes - Last Game

• Never fully recovered after conceding in the second minute against bottom side Gamba
• Ito was surprisingly subbed off at half time. He has been seen in training this week and no known issue. There is alot of speculation about his future and he is linked to a transfer to several European teams including Celtic.

Notes - This game

• Suzuki should return upfront
• Have only 1 away win all season

Notes - Key Players

• Ito
• Kojima
• Ko

Odds

Nagoya Grampus vs Cerezo Osaka

Notes - General

• Junker scored within the first minute and despite a Sapporo second half onslaught, Nagoya held on to win 2-1
• Remain 3rd in the table and 4 points behind the leaders Kobe at the top of the table

Notes - Last Game

• Played their strongest X11 with Maruyama keeping his place ahead of Nogami
• Nagai and Junker combined again for the first with Morishita also getting an assist with a scrumptious cross to Mateus

Notes - This Game

• Mateus has been seen in full training and though Opta had him down as injured, he should be fine to play this game
• Maruyama is favourite over Nogami for this game but the manager likes both players so this is one spot I see being open to changes in the season. I see no reasons to change things for this game though.
• Nagoya are unbeaten at home this season.

Notes - Key Players

• Mateus
• Junker
• Inagaki

Notes - General

• Have their last 3 games and now sit 5th in the league
• All 3 wins were also without conceding a goal
• Jonjic and Kato havent been seen in training and are doubtful for this game.

Notes - Last Game

• Comfortably beat YFC 2-0
• Crooks went off at halftime with an injury and is a doubt for this game

Notes - This game

• Unlikely to changes things drastically for this game. There is a hint that they may return to 4-4-2 with Uejo playing with Ceara upfront
• With Jonjic likely out, I also expect Shindo to continue at the back

Notes - Key Players

• Kagawa
• Ceara
• Okuno

Odds

Fukuoka vs Gamba Osaka

Notes - General

• Lost 2-0 to reigning champions YFM last week
• Nakamura came on off the bench and has a chance to start this game.
• Moriyama and Kamekawa remain long term injuries.Ideguchi is fully fit and could well feature against his old side

Notes - Last Game

• 2 first half goals for Anderson Lopes was the difference between the sides
• Fukuoka did play well for the most part and after some tactical changes at half time caused YFM defense problems

Notes - This Game

• Murakami should remain in nets. We know the manager likes to change things here so it remains a risk as it will all season.
• I expect to see a change back to 4-4-2 with Lukian on the left wing. If this happens, 2/3 of Nara, Grolli and Miya will start
• Fukuoka have only lost once at home this season

Notes - Key Players

• Yamagishi
• Nara
• Mae

Notes - General

• Picked up only their second win of the season with a 1-3 win against Niigata
• Remain bottom of the table but will be hoping to build on that win
• Usami returns from suspension

Notes - Last Game

• Jebali assisted twice to open up an early lead for Gamba
• Higashiguchi pulled off 7 saves and played with confidence
• Yuki Yamamoto started for the first time in 2 months 

Notes - This Game

• Kyung - Won is likely injured and hasnt been seen in training 
• Though Usami is ofc a key player, the manager may well keep to the same lineup that won last week. Ishige and Kurata in particular impressed and brought balance to the side

Notes - Key Players

• Alano
• Lavi
• Usami

Odds

YFC vs Sagan Tosu

Notes - General

• Were well beaten by Cerezo 
• Kondo is suspended for this game and the manager will not be present due to illness
• After Gambas win are now only two points above bottom spot

Notes - Last Game

• Continued with a 3-4-2-1 formation
• Other than Ogawa coming back from suspension, kept the same side as the game before

Notes - This Game

• Lara, Mita and Sakamoto will be pushing for starts but I expect them to keep to a similar lineup as last week.
• Have won their last two home games

Notes - Key Players

• Brodersen
• Ogawa
• Iwatake

Notes - General

• Drew 2-2 against inform Kashima
• Honda is confirmed out long term with a knee injury. Will give more opportunities to players like Tezuka and Kabayama

Notes - Last Game

• Nakano started for the first time since March
• Seok Ho Hwang came on from the bench in the last few minutes
• Conceded in stoppage time though for me, 2-2 was a fair result.

Notes - This Game

• No fresh injuries so could see the same lineup as last time around
• Tezuki and Nakanos spot are most at risk 
• Sagan are unbeaten in 4 league games.

Notes - Key Players

• Park Il-gyu
• Kawahara
• Iwasaki

Odds

Kashiwa vs Sapporo

Notes - General

• New manager lost his first game as Kashiwa were easily beaten 2-0
• Savio was missing from the squad and hasnt been seen in training so is doubtful for this game
• Sento did return and started the last game behind Hosoya in attack

Notes - Last Game

• Savio not being available meant the team were unable to create many chances/cause Kawasaki many problems
• Tastuta went off with an injury and is doubtful

Notes - This Game

• Have only 1 win their last 8 games
• Diego seen in training but unlikely to be ready for this game. Bueno was signed recently but is out long term leaving Kashiwa very thin at the back.
• Douglas did well when he came on last game. I see him pushing for a start
• Savio hasnt been seen in training pics so far

Notes - Key Players

• Hosoya
• Savio
• Koga

Notes - General

• Lost for the first time in 4 against Nagoya
• Played well especially after going behind in the 1st minute. However Nagoya were able to hit them on the counter
• Now sit midtable in 8th

Notes - Last Game

• Kaneko scored his 7th of the season and he is in excellent form
• Suga went off at half time with Fernandes coming on. This looks to have been tactical.

Notes - This game

• Kim Gun Hee is back in training. This game will likely be too soon for him.
• Aoki was missing from the squad last week and I havent seen him in training
• Fernandes could start this game. As always its tricky to know as Suga and Kaneko especially are doing well

Notes - Key Players

• Kaneko
• Ogashiwa
• Fukumori

Odds

Hiroshima vs Kyoto

Notes - General

• Have lost 3 of their last 4 games including the midweek game to Urawa
• Are now 6th in the table
• Shiotani is still out injured for the next two weeks.

Notes - Last Game

• Despite taking a second half lead, Urawa were able to score in the last minute to get the win.
• Higashi and Notsuda came back in with Jelani doing well at the back

Notes - This Game

• Ben Khalifa has generally been preferred to start over Vieira for tactical reasons. Its not my prefence but I wouldnt be surprised if he starts again.
• Ezequiel could well return after starting from the bench
• Pieros Sotiriou not seen in training and likely an undisclosed injury
• This game is on Sunday so we will not get press conference news before the deadline. 
• Though there is some rotation risk, the team will have had 4 days break so less need to rotate compared to last week.

Notes - Key Players

• Sasaki
• Notsuda
• Higashi

Notes - General

• Have lost 5 leagues games in a row and without a win in 8 games
• After a solid start to the season, Kyoto have been sliding down the table and are now just 3 points above bottom spot

Notes - Last Game

• Kyoto played well for large periods of the game against Urawa and werent able to take their chances
• Patric in particular did very well and should continue
• Ota came in for Wakahara and the keeper spot remains unstable as the manager has said he decides on the day of the game!

Notes - This game

• Toyokawa and Kinoshita surprisingly didnt play last week. I feel it was for tactical reasons and I expect them to return here.
• As the team are in such poor form, the manager may well try new players/tactics as he has done this before when the team are in bad form

Notes - Key Players

• Sota Kawasaki
• Rikito Inoue
• Yuta Tokoyawa

Odds

Urawa Reds vs Kashima Antlers

Notes - General

• Won in a tight fought midweek contest against Hiroshima
• Akimoto returned after being on the bench last game
• Kante also started for only the second time this season

Notes - Last Game

• Manager used his subs to great effect after going a goal down early in the second half
• Sakai finished excellently before Linssen linked up with the highly impressive Ito for the last minute winner
• With this win, Urawa leapfrogged Hiroshima and now are 4th with a game in hand.

Notes - This game

• Koizumi is in full training and likely to make the squad
• I expect a similar side as midweek to continue with Koroki pushing for a start

Notes - Key Players

• Scholz
• Iwao
• Nishikawa

Notes - General

• Kashima Antlers drew thanks to a last minute Suzuki goal
• They are now unbeaten in 8 games
• Chinen remains injured for this game

Notes - Last Game

• Anzai got his second assist in as many games and Suzuki hit his 8th goal of the season

Notes - This Game

• A similar lineup to last week is expected. Though they didnt get the win, the team are playing well and the manager is sticking to similar players each week
• Players like Doi are experienced and may come in for this clash
• Antlers have the best away record in the league

Notes - Key Players

• Suzuki
• Higashi
• Ueda

Finish

I hope found this useful!

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

If any info comes out before the deadline, I will post it on Discord

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

Good luck and enjoy the games :)