Shimizu S-Pulse vs Shunan University

IAI Stadium Nihondaira is the venue as J1 League strugglers Shimizu S-Pulse take on semi-amateur side Shunan University in the Emperor’s Cup round of 64.

Things are not going Shimizu S-Pulse’s way these days, even though they defeated Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 in their most recent domestic cup outing. Indeed, Shimizu head into this clash riding on an abysmal run of three J1 League defeats, all of which saw them concede 2+ goals and two of them featuring a losing margin of at least two goals. Clear-cut favourites to overcome sub-par opponents here, the hosts will be looking to improve their dismal four-game form on home turf (W1, L3). Yet, it’s worth noting that they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven competitive home fixtures, conceding 2+ goals in four of them.

Meanwhile, Shunan University pulled off an overwhelming 3-0 win over fellow semi-amateur rivals Takamatsu University in the preliminary Emperor’s Cup round to set up this last-64 tie. Before making light work of Takamatsu, Shunan University had failed to score in their two previous Emperor’s Cup campaigns. With this representing their first-ever meeting with a top-flight adversary, anything other than a thumping defeat would be a massive success for the visitors. It’s enough to say that finding any information about Shunan University online is as challenging as spotting a UFO.