When Urawa Red Diamonds visited Yamaha Iwata last weekend, they opened their record first, but they were equalized 3 minutes later and had to settle for 1. :1 to draw with their opponents.
It was heartening to see the Urawa Red Diamonds front line establish a lot of organized attacks in this battle. But on the other hand, a pair of big goal players showed considerable erosion when fighting for high balls. In today's battle, Urawa Red Diamonds will need great performances from their front and back players against a highly organized and efficient Machida Zevia. On the defensive side, how Aleksandar Shuhus handles Zevia's high-flying offense will be the key to victory. Up front, Shoya Nakajima will also play an important role. He has had a great season and may have a chance to be selected for the Japanese national team again in the future.
Zevia Machida continues to perform incredibly well after his first promotion to the Japanese ranks. On Sunday, it battled in the Capital Fighting Wave and easily went 5 for 5. :0 win over Tokyo Midori, Zevia moved into the top of the league table after winning the Wave. The key to this victory was their intense defense from the front and their ability to execute different tactics when attacking the dead ball.
It should also be noted that some of their players are capable of scoring goals, but I think Sho Fujio plays a more important role as he can utilize the openings well and excel in the opponent's box, so he will pose the biggest threat to the home team's defense.
I believe this game will depend on the quality of the offense in the second half. Personally, I think Machida Zevia's offense is slightly dominant, so I expect they will be able to win the game for the guests.
