Sorare Tactics

GW3 - J1 League Preview - FINAL

Added 2024-08-23 04:11:20 +0000 UTC

Full schedule of games coming up this wkend! There are 5 games on Saturday with the remaining 5 on Sunday.

Fixtures

9 teams (Gamba, YFM, Shonan, Kyoto, Kashima, Hiroshima, Kashiwa, Sapporo, Kobe) also played midweek in the Emperors Cup. These teams will have less news available/more risk of rotation depending on who played on Wednesday.

This is particularly pertinent given that general heat warnings are in place across Japan as currently going through a heat wave!

J1 Table

Nakayama had a dream debut, scoring on his debut in Machida 4-0 win. They are 4 points ahead of inform Hiroshima who won again away to Nagoya.

Kashima, Gamba and Kobe all dropped points to lose ground on Machida.

Sapporo got their second win in 4 games as their performances improve. They still face a mountain to climb and are 11 points away from safety with games running out. Sagan are in freefall after losing a group of players and their manager. They have now lost 4 of their last 5.

Main Point

Welton (Gamba), Someno (Verdy), Izumi (Nagoya), Takai(Kawasaki), Kaneko (Kyoto) are all suspended
Hayashi and Matsumura (Verdy) , Tsukagawa (Kyoto) cant play due to contractual reasons
We have seen lots of transfers in the last couple of weeks! Best place to see these are here
Seko and Ominami (both Kawasaki) have been allowed to leave their clubs to complete transfers to europe clubs.
Germain has been linked with a move to Blackburn but has distanced himself from the move and is available to start this GW
YFM keeper situation remains unclear! Manager has said he want it to be competitive. So far they have taken it in turns. Popp played last week and Iikura played in the cup yesterday so Popp slight fav again if pattern continues! Neither have made mistakes yet but Popp is the longer term prospect.
Muto left the field with an injury last week for Kobe. Has been seen in training though waiting for confirmation is fully fit
JSR surprisingly missed last weeks game. Hasnt been seen in training yet and is big doubt
With Izumi suspended, Tokumoto likely makes his debut for Nagoya. Manager has spoken positively about him this week.
Okubo for Urawa is v likely out after spraining his ankle last week. Matsuo missed training with sickness earlier this week. Maeda is in full training and played a practice game.
Hiroshima have won their last 5 games and the form team
YFM have won 4 of their last 5 and improving performance under new gaffer
Fukuoka are winless in 6, scoring just 4 goals in those games.
Sagan have picked up just 1 point from a possible 15 in their last 5 games.
FC Tokyo have picked up just 1 win in 7

SO5 Analysis

Best xG - Kobe (2.4 xG), Hiroshima (1.8xG)

Best Clean sheet chances -Kobe (44%), Gamba (43%)

Best Stack - Kobe, Hiroshima

Kobe have the stand out fixture in the league and also within the Contender division. Sagan are in awful form and have lost a number of key players. They also lost top scorer Ryan to injury last week and is v likely out. Kobe themselves have been in mixed form, however this is a lovely fixture.

Gamba are also in mixed form with 3 draws in a row. They face an out of form Fukuoka side and I fancy a Gamba win with a CS. Fukuoka have only scored 4 goals in their last 6 games and have scored the least goals of any team in the league this season!

Hiroshima are flying and playing great. At home, Sanfreece are hard to break down and since signing Kawabe and Arslan are more compact in midfield helping their CS chances.

Players I like this GW are - Usami, Tanaka, Elber, Nakatani, Ichimori, Tanaka, Sasaki, Min Tae

Predicted Lineups

Important to note the %s used here. If no %, it means I see them as a starter and no known risks. For sorare, its about there scorer potential so check out KEY PLAYERS even subs have a way :)

When 75% or below - there is some risk involved. My main aim with these is to show where risk/potential DNPs are lurking.

I base these %s on info I read from various sources including comments from the manager and reading a lot of local Japanese news coverage/message boards. Saying that, there will always be unknowns including last minute injury/illness of a player etc.

Always do your own research when making picks. For SO5, it can make sense to take some calculated risks depending on the potential score and the rest of your team/prize pool.

IMPORTANT

Please do not share info from this preview or info provided. Lots is from paid sites/contacts in the hope of finding an edge for ppl here.

Thanks for the support!

Gamba vs Fukuoka

Gamba

Welton suspended.
Won midweek in the Emperors Cup. Quick turnaround in games.
Alano should start. Meshino/Yamashita/Kurata all going to starting spot up top
3 draws in a row in the league. Are 4th in the table.

Fukuoka

In bad form. Winless in 6 games. In midtable.
Struggling up front. Zahedi not coping well in humid conditions and again more likely from bench
With the poor form, some risk of keeper change! No indication though this is often the case with this manager.

Urawa vs Frontale

Urawa

In general, having poor season given expectations as title contenders.
Nishikawa returns from suspension. Niekawa did excellent in 0-0 draw last week but no indication captain Nishikawa wont return in nets.
Okubo only in light training after sprained ankle.
Maeda in full training and pushing for start. Matsuo was ill and missed some training.
Situation with Santana unclear. Seen as being out of favour. Manager has lots of options up front.
Pressure mounting on managers job. Lots of changes recently with the directors/top management at Urawa.

Kawasaki

Having poor season but have seen recent improvements in performances.
Ominami and Seko not available as on verge of transfers out
Takai is suspended. Kurumaya most likely to come in at LCB though is rusty
Kawahara has joined. Has impressed in training, unclear where he fits. Oshima getting praise from manager so from bench most likely.
JSR missed last game. At the moment not seen in training, so a big risk
Lost last week to YFM. Manager has tendency to tweak things after a loss but imo should stick to similar setup.

YFM vs Cerezo

YFM

In decent form. Won last week against YFM. Also last min win in cup midweek.
Keeper situation remains unclear! Manager has said he want it to be competitive. So far they have taken it in turns. Popp played last week and Iikura played in the cup yesterday so Popp slight fav again if pattern continues! Neither have made mistakes yet but Popp is the longer term prospect. Risky
Lots of players rested in the cup game. Likely with the league game in mind as no indication of concerns in squad. Kamijima played full 90 mins in cup so likely makes way in league.
Kida returns from suspension. Him and Watanabe pref with this manager. Nishimura vs Amano competing for 3rd mid spot with both doing well but Nishimura fav here given Amano mins in cup
Nagato returned to lineup last week, should continue at LB.
Waiting on injury/training news on players. Hope to get before deadline.

Cerezo

In poor form. Lots of defensive mistakes in 5-3 home loss to Kyoto
Capi is out injured
With bad form, could see changes. Nishio in particular in contention to return to setup. Funaki and Okuda in particular at risk
Manager said this this week: "I think it's OK to change the starters for every game. I'd like to make that choice for these 11 games, looking at their performance and condition. The basic theory is that you don't change the members if you win, but I think it's OK to change them on a daily basis. We've also had a lot of injured players return."
Midfielder Shinji Kagawa (35), who has not played in the league for more than three months due to injury, as well as defender Ryosuke Shindo (28) and midfielder Haru Kida (24), who were both out for long periods due to injuries sustained before the start of the season, are on standby.
With midfielder Yuichi Hirano (28), who has appeared as a substitute in all nine games so far, and forward Hayato Kitano (20), who improved during his short-term study abroad in the Netherlands this summer and scored his second goal of the season in the previous match against Kyoto, the team's pecking order is on the rise.
"The players who played in the (last) match were carrying various emotions, and the atmosphere in today's training was tense. I want to cherish their emotions as well. I want to assess them equally, regardless of whether they are playing or not."
Given the bad form (esp the awful game last week), manager comments, I am not confident with the lineup and im using my Cerezo players in less important lineups. Very hard to know the managers intentions esp as Cerezo have nothing to play for in the league other than pride.

Shonan vs Nagoya

Shonan

Lost last week in tight contest vs Kashiwa
Lost midweek in the cup. Note that Kamifukumoto wasnt able to play this game due to being cup tied so SBK was expected in nets
After playing a relatively strong lineup in cup, some rotation could happen. Hard to predicted atm as no new training info
Players like Lukian, Min Tae and Barada were rested/benched for cup so should start here

Nagoya

Lost 2-1 to Hiroshima last week. Inconsistent season.
Ono out injured. Nagai only in partial training. Izumi out suspended.
Uchida is available after suspension. Can play a few spots.
Tokumoto has joined. Could come straight in as is match fit and manager hinted is doing well.
Junker scored and improving in fitness. Patric doing well up top so unclear who starts and manager hinted not wanting to take risks with Kasper.

Kyoto vs FC Tokyo

Kyoto

Impressive 5-3 win vs Cerezo. In good form but still in relegation fight.
Kaneko is suspended.
Kawasaki slowly returning to full fitness. Started and scored in cup win midweek. With quick turnaround in games, depends on how his body reacted to that game if starts here.
Yonemoto, Fukuoka and Hirato started last week in mid and did well.
Api likely out injured. Miyamoto is versitile and can play RCB and RB
Lots of new signings made by Kyoto and increased competition inside squad.

FC Tokyo

Team unstable, lots of changes in players and formation. Playing for nothing in league so risk of youth/experimentation.
Tokumoto has moved to Nagoya on loan. Kashif fitness unclear
Morishige went off with nasty head injury and likely out with concussion.
Trevisan in full training. Did well in practice game and in contention to start, with Doi the fav CB alongside him
Ogashiwa also close to full fitness. Got some more mins off bench. Very injury prone so always a risk!

Tokyo Verdy vs Kashima

Tokyo V

Someno, Hayashi and Matsumura unavailable.
Morita returned to starting X11 last game and should continue
Lots of options to replace unavailable players upfront esp. Miki can play multiple spots.

Kashima

Drew with Urawa last week. Won midweek in Emperors Cup.
Cavric is out injured, new signings made but likely make bench.
Chinen not seen in training yet as far as i know. Waiting on news from todays training post cup game.

Hiroshima vs Kashiwa

Hiroshima

5 wins in a row
Played strong lineup in cup win midweek.
Arslan scored in cup and doing well. Balance of side means he isnt a sure starter with Shiotani and Kawabe slightly more likely.
Waiting on training news today post cup game.
Sotiriou, MJ are injury doubts and likely out.

Kashiwa

Big win agaisst Shonan last week. Lost in Emperors cup midweek.
Sekine assumed out, limited info.
Some rotation from cup game could happen depending on fatigue. Striker spot nxt to Hosoya up for grabs.

Niigata vs Machida

Niigata with an impressive win last week
Komi in full training, unclear if able to start.
Lots of options up front, manager changing it up regularly.

Machida

Top of the table. Big win last week in return to form.
Nakayama impressed as LCB. Should continued even with Dresevic available
Lots of options up front especially. After the win last week, same lineup fav
Limited info available on Soma atm

Iwata vs Sapporo

Iwata

Big loss to Machida and in relegation fight
Uehara surprisingly missing, unclear situation
Peixoto returns from suspension, should start
Lots of uncertaintity throughout side due to poor form
Kawasahima returned to nets last week

Sapporo

Bottom of table. Won last week and in decent form. Lost in cup game midweek
Asano assumed out after injury in warm up last week. Supachok did well and v likely starts.
Keeper Takagi close to a return. Started full training recently.
Lots of new signings made recently, CB spot with Min Kyu Park vs Nakamura unclear.
Kondo did well last well, should continue.

Kobe vs Sagan

Kobe

2-2 draw last week. Losing ground in title race,
Won in emperors cup
Hirose played at RB and can also play as LW or LB. Honda played full 90 midweek. Hatsuse slight fav.
Muto went off with injury last week. In training, condition unclear. Lots of options in winger spot.
Oghihara returns from suspension. Yamaguchi in full training but still a risk.
Sakai in light training, still needs time. Limited news available after cup game, waiting on presser

Sagan

2nd bottom of table and in v bad form.
Lost a lot of key players. Have made new signings, unclear if able to play this game yet
Ryan went off with muscle injury, assumed out. Big blow.
Manager change recently.