Sagan Tosu vs Kawasaki Frontale

Reigning J1 League champions and current table-toppers Kawasaki Frontale take a trip to the Ekimae Real Estate Stadium to meet fellow top-half rivals Sagan Tosu.

It’s been an unexpectedly decent start to the season for Sagan Tosu, who welcomes Matchday 14 in an encouraging fifth place in the J1 League standings after losing just two of their opening 13 league games (W4, D7). However, consistency has not been Sagan’s strong suit thus far, as a thumping 4-0 defeat away to Vissel Kobe last time out saw their run of four league matches in which they alternated between winning (2) and drawing (2) come to a halt. Although they’ve yet to lose a top-flight home fixture this term, Kenta Kawai’s players have drawn three of their five league outings at the Ekimae Real Estate Stadium (W2), two of which yielded the identical 1-1 scoreline.

As for Kawasaki, Shogo Taniguchi’s last-gasp winner at Vissel Kobe last time out catapulted the reigning J1 League holders to a hard-earned 1-0 triumph, extending their winning league streak to four matches. Title-winning manager Toru Oniki seems to have found the winning formula. Indeed, each of Kawasaki’s last six J1 League victories has been accompanied by a clean sheet, including all four across the aforementioned winning run. Another stubborn defensive showing will be of the essence, as Kawasaki’s four J1 League triumphs away from home is term have all featured shutouts. That could be easier said than done, with the ‘Blue-Black’ conceding in both previous top-flight visits to Sagan (D1, L1), including a 3-1 defeat in this exact fixture last season.