Saturday August 21st #1

 

Next newsletter will be sent in a little over one hour, at 10.00 UK time.

 

Japan: J-League:

 

Very brief notes for J-League this morning.

 

Ventforet Kofu-Vissel Kobe

 

Kobe have been happier on the road all season, with 20 of their 29 points earned away from home. They have been particularly strong after the break in those away starts and their record of 7-2-3 is the best in J-League. Ventforet are 1-2-4 at home in the second period when level at HT and that exactly mirrors Kobe's road stats (4-2-1) when all square at the break.
 

Recent signing Leandro scored his first goal since on his debut five weeks ago against Kawasaki Frontale last Sunday and was denied a second by the woodwork, he can fire his team to victory, but it might be after the break.

 

1.5 units Vissel Kobe at first asian line quoted at odds of above 2.0 at half time, as long as they are not already leading and we are playing 11 v 11.
 

Urawa Reds-Vegalta Sendai

 

There are almost always goals when these two meet, 24 in the last four h2h fixtures and with Urawa keen to hold on to that three point advanatge at the top of the overall J-League table, they will be looking for the win today. They are a perfect 6-0-0 at home when level at half time, are 8-2-2 here in Saitama in the second half of all games and have scored six second half goals in the last three h2h meetings. Good chance for this also to spring to life after the break and I will suggest.......1.5 units Urawa Reds at the first asian line that is quoted at odds above 2.0 at half time, as long as they are not already leading and we are playing 11 v 11.

Urawa boss Mihailo Petrović is very protective of his players and was a little outspoken about the criticism his team often receive earlier week, feeling that Reds are not allowed to win "ugly" and it sounds like he is looking for a convincing performance this weekend.....

"After the second stage began, our team had a period without positive results. Due to the national team’s schedule, we had a two-week break too. During that time, four members had to leave the team to join the national team. Kashiwagi also sustained an injury in his adductor muscles. The team had a difficult time playing the last two matches. However, I would like to praise our team players as they have managed to overcome difficult hurdles. We will have one week to prepare before our next match against Vegalta Sendai. We can finally have all our players together to prepare for our next match. The team can regard the past two matches positively and I believe that we have created a positive momentum for the upcoming match against Vegalta Sendai."
 

Vegalta centreback Hirofumi Watanabe is out for another month, Sendai have conceded seven in three starts in his absence and there is a chance that the hosts could run away with this and if you want to bet pre match and can find it 1 unit Urawa to score over " 2.5" goals 2.90-3.0 general quote is an option and would have been a winner in three of the last four meetings.

Albirex Niigata-Sanfrecce Hiroshima

 

Sanfreece are now three points adrift of Urawa Reds, who have a very win-able home game (see above), at the top of the overall table, after losing back to back home games without scoring. They were 5-0-0 in Stage 2 before that and will have used the free midweek to try and regain focus , I have spoken a lot this season about how motivated they were to win one of the titles this season, after coming up short last year following back to back league championships. Given those recent home flops, we can surely expect Sanfrecce to come out a little defensive and play themselves into the game before pushing on and second half stats for these two imply that would be a good approach. Albirex are 1-4-7 at home after the break, Hiroshima are 6-4-2 on the road, that is 15 points (1.25 per game) more than the hosts have managed, even with home advantage .They are also unbeaten in seven trips to Niigata. Favourite son Hisato Sato is closing in on the all time J-League scoring record for Sanfrecce and he has five away goals versus Albirex, if he could score today, he has the possibility to equal or better the record in front of his own adoring supporters next week.

 

Albirex have not beaten a top six team in ten attempts this season, conceding an average of 2.7 goals , two or more in eight and if we see the best of the visitors today, they should follow keep up that trend , win this and put some pressure on Urawa who have a difficult looking trip to Yokohama next week.

 

Shonan Bellmare-Kawasaki Frontale

 

Kawasaki Frontale have still not given up on a top three finish, but seven points off the pace, they cannot afford too many more slip ups. They are coming off a 2-0 defeat at Vissel Kobe last weekend, but that could have easily have turned out differently, Frontale created chances and were also denied by the woodwork and the second, decisive goal came late, by which time Kawasaki were throwing caution to the wind. The visitors have dominated recent meetings (10-2-1) of this Kanagawa derby and after not scoring in two starts,for the first time in over three years, I expect them to get back on track today and they are another team who will have benefitted from a full seven days to prepare. Frontale are 7-3-0 after a six + day break, scoring two or more in eight of those, three or more goals in five.