Flying Foot of Osaka will host Urawa Red Diamonds in the first leg of the last eight of the J-League Cup. Flying Foot's defense looks a bit shaky and has been losing points in recent matches. Against Red Diamond, who is good at attacking, it is very likely that the opponent will be the first to break the deadlock. Therefore, some analysts expect the Red Diamonds to break the deadlock first and win the honor of "first team to score". (The match will be played on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m.)
Flying Foot have had their ups and downs, winning only 3 of their last 7 matches, including warm-up matches, with poor defensive play being the main reason. In those 7 matches, Flying Foot have failed to keep a clean sheet, conceding a total of 13 goals, including the recent league loss to Sapporo Gonzaga in Hokkaido. In 3 of their last 4 matches, Flying Foot have fought back after conceding first, and even in the JLF Cup, only 2 of their 6 matches have resulted in clean sheets, making their defensive problems obvious.
Meanwhile, Red Diamond's form has been on the upswing, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in their last 5 matches in all competitions, including advancement to the AFC Champions League group stage and a win over league leaders Nagoya Whale in the league, which has certainly boosted the team's confidence. The Red Diamonds are good at scoring early in the game. In their last five matches, they have scored in the opening period of the match, and in four of those matches, they have taken the lead in the first half, which shows their aggressive attacking strategy and their determination to take the lead as early as possible in order to stabilize the team's morale.
