Kawasaki Frontale vs Urawa Reds

The stakes are high for familiar J1 League rivals Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Reds ahead of their meeting at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium.

Back-to-back victories over Yokohama FC and Cerezo Osaka via an aggregate score of 4-1 have seen Kawasaki recover from two consecutive losses beforehand and partially return into contention for a top-three finish in the J1 League. However, there is a slim margin for error as they commenced this round seven points adrift of third-placed Kyoto Sanga amid an indifferent 15-game league start (W6, D6, L3). Shigetoshi Hasebe’s men have been remarkable on home turf, only losing one of their seven league matches here this season (W4, D2) while conceding an average of just 0.71 goals per game. Urawa’s visit can hardly harm their decent-looking defensive record, with Kawasaki capitulating once or not at all in the last six H2Hs on this ground (W3, D3).

Leaving the comforts of their home potentially spells trouble for the visitors, as they’ve only won one of their eight top-flight travels this season (D5, L2). It’s hard to escape the proposition of a low-scoring affair, considering seven of those eight matches featured under 2.5 goals, creating the irresistible sense of predictability surrounding another cagey, hard-fought contest likely to be settled by fine margins. With Urawa’s last away league win over Kawasaki dating back to May 2018, manager Maciej Skorza would likely settle for another stalemate, even though it wouldn’t be enough to propel fourth-placed Urawa to third in the J1 League standings as they sit two points behind Kyoto pre-round.