GW455 - J1 League Lineups - DRAFT (Patreon)
Content
Intro
J1 League wkend of fun is here!
The below are the fixtures coming up:
Predicted Lineups
Important to note the %s used here. If no %, it means I see them as a starter and no known risks. For sorare, its about there scorer potential so check out KEY PLAYERS even subs have a way :)
When 75% or below - 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. Saying that, there will always be unknowns including last minute injury/illness of a player etc.
Always do your own research when making picks. For SO5, it can make sense to take some calculated risks depending on the potential score and the rest of your team/prize pool.
Kobe vs Kashiwa
Vissel Kobe
- Current champions and won opening game
- Ide is confirmed out injured.
- Muto fitness is v unclear. Atm big risk for this GW
- Likely same team as last week. Clean sheet and decent performance
Key SO5 Players - Hatsuse, Sakai, Yamaguchi, Muto, Osako
Set Piece Takers - Hatsuse, Yuruki, Osako
Kashiwa Reysol
- Drew first game. Hosoya missed penalty. Savio the key play as always
- Kinoshita was on bench last game. Pushing for start
Key SO5 Players - Koga, Inukai, Savio, Hosoya
Set Piece Takers - Savio
Nagoya vs Machida
Nagoya
- Lost 0-3 to Kashima in the first game
- Defenders Ha Chang Rae and Kawazura missed the last game with injuries. Ha Chang Rae played in a recent practice game and should start here imo
- Yamagishi in training however some concerns remain if ready to start
Key SO5 Players - Langerak, Ha Chang Rae, Inagaki, Yamagishi, Junker,Yamanaka
Set Piece Takers - Yamagishi, Yamanaka, Inagaki
Machida
- Newly promoted as Champions in J2
- Sento is suspended.
- Shoji is injured and v unlikely for this game. Should return next week
- Na Sang Ho not seen in training. Having tests on muscle injury and v unlikely for this game.
- Erik is out injured. Usual starter ST
Kyoto vs Shonan
Kyoto Sanga
- Drew opening game
- Defender Suzuki surprisingly missing first game. No info yet.
- Unbeaten in their last 4 games
Key SO5 Players - Gu Sung, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Hara
Set Piece Takers - Kawasaki
Shonan
- Lost opening game to Kawasaki
- Changed to 4-4-2 formation. Not sure if this will continue, mixed noises coming out.
- Tomii started over SBK. I expected SBK to return and this choice was due to SBK missing some of preseason training/prep for the 1st game.
- A few options available in def and CM
- Lukian fav to start. A few options to partner him with Suzuki favoured last wk.
Key SO5 Players - SBK, Min Tae, Sugioka, Tanaka,Lukian
Set Piece Takers - Sugioka
Sagan vs Sapporo
Sagan
- Lost 2-1 to Niigata
- Ryan pref choice up front. Nakahara not in squad and no info yet
- Defense looked disjointed/weak. Kiumura is another option as CB
Key SO5 Players - Park, Yamazaki, Kawahara, Naganuma,
Set Piece Takers - Kawahara, Tezuka
Sapporo
- Drew 0-0 vs Fukuoka in the opening round
- Takagi had a late injury. Not seen in training yet so Sugeno most likely to continue
- Kondo picked up a injury and unlikely to feature
- Asano is close to full fitness and played in a practice game. Should start as RW
- Suzuki came on as a sub as not fully fit. I expect him to start but manager does like to play with false 9 like Kobayashii
Key SO5 Players - Okamura,Asano, Suzuki
Set Piece Takers - Asano, Arano
Kashima vs Cerezo
Kashima
- Highly impressive 3-0 opening game win
- Chinen played as DCM and expected to continue here for time being
- Suzuki came on (with mask) as a sub. Should start here with Doi most likely making way
Cerezo
- Drew 2-2 in opening game
- Shindo is injured and out. Funaki was pref choice for him last game.
- Fernandes, Tanaka and Noborizato impressed on debut.
- Lots of players like Kiyotake/Okuno that can play multiple spots and bring balance to the side.
Key SO5 Players - KJH, Toriumi, Maikuma, Tanaka, Kagawa, Ceara
Set Piece Takers - Kagawa
FC Tokyo vs Hiroshima
FC Tokyo
- Drew 2-2 in opening game
- Hatano started first game. Looks like a competitive battle with Brandon.
- Doi made debut at CB. Should continue with Trevisan
- Kashif went off with a minor leg injury. Seen in training and should be ok.
- Ogashiwa played and scored in a training game. Still not a sure starter even when fully fit - lots of options
- Endo likely makes debut. Is fit and ready
- Ko not in squad and not much info
- Seen some concerns about Diego. Only joined training midweek so should start.
Key SO5 Players -Trevisan, Matsuki, Diego
Set Piece Takers - Matsuki, Koizumi,
Hiroshima
- Highly impressive in 2-0 opening win with Ohashi scoring both
- MJ back in training but unlikely to start this game imo. They want to ease him back
- Same lineup as last game most likely to start again.
Gamba vs Niigata
Gamba
- Usami scored a beaut of FK to snatch a draw against Machida. Is in the running to start..with this manager always hard to know tbh!
- Jebali not in the squad last game and doubtful here
- Welton signed for Gamba recently. LW and starter when he is up to match fitness
Key SO5 Players - Nakatani, Handa, Alano,
Set Piece Takers - Suzuki, Alano, Usami
Niigata
- Lots of options in most spots.
- Manager is known to change CBs almost every game! v hard to predict Michael Fitzgerald is a doubt. Endo and Chiba not in squad last game.
- Ota out injured
Key SO5 Players - Kojima, Fujiwara,Arai
Set Piece Takers - Takagi, Hasegawa
Urawa vs Tokyo Verdy
Urawa
- Well beaten by Hiroshima in the first game
- Manager said he was satisfied with the performance - points to limited changes here
- Okubo and Solkbakken both in full training and could feature
- Rest of lineup I expect to be same as the first game
Key SO5 Players - Nishikawa, Scholz, Hoibraten, Ito, Matsuo, Santana,
Set Piece Takers - Scholz (pens)
Tokyo Verdy
- Newly promoted side
- Unlucky not to win first game after solid performance vs YFM
- Someno looked v lively upfront
Key SO5 Players - Someno, Hayashi
Set Piece Takers - Morita, Yamada
Finish
Hope you found this useful!
I will post the final version tomorrow including SO5 analysis and some threshold picks
Am also going to do a live feed on Discord going through things 2morrow
https://discord.com/events/926654970617544704/1212665219344502804
(if unable to see/access please just msg!)