Urawa Reds vs Yokohama F. Marinos

Out-of-sorts Urawa Reds will be desperate to post their first J1 League triumph since mid-March when they take on high-flying Yokohama F. Marinos at the Saitama Stadium.

Things are not going Urawa’s way these days, as an abysmal run of five consecutive J1 League draws condemned them to the relegation play-off spot. Low scoring has been a common theme in Urawa’s recent league fixtures. Seven of their last eight J1 League games have featured under 2.5 goals, with three of them yielding the same ‘nil-nil’ scoreline. Indeed, scoring has been a genuine issue for the ‘Red Devils’ in the early stage of this season, as only two sides have netted fewer J1 League goals than them (11) so far. On the bright side, a clear majority (82%) of Urawa’s league goals scored have come at home (9/11). Therefore, it’s somewhat unsurprising that nine (75%) of their total J1 League points this term have arrived at the Saitama Stadium.

Inspired by an impressive three-game winning league streak, title-bidding Yokohama will be looking to arrest a two-game winless run at Urawa (D1, L1). The ‘Marinos,’ who trail table-topping Kashima Antlers by four points ahead of this round, are scoring at will these days. Since a 2-0 defeat away to Hiroshima in early April, Kevin Muscat’s men have bagged 2+ goals in their last four league outings, averaging three goals per match in this sequence. Furthermore, after going winless in their three inaugural away games of the season (D1, L2), Yokohama have won the last two in a row by a three-goal margin each. Curiously, four of the seven goals they scored across those two victories arrived beyond the 80th minute, highlighting the potential for a cracking game closure.