The big fixture on the football calendar this weekend is without a doubt the savoury Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Valencia. But don’t forget that there’s also some exciting J-League action for SBOBET football fans to look forward to.
League leaders FC Tokyo have yet to be defeated this season and will their sights set on extending that impressive streak to 13 games when they visit Cerezo Osaka.
There’s also the much-anticipated clash between Oita Trinita and defending champions Kawasaki Frontale, who both haven’t lost in quite a while as well.
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, Urawa Red Diamonds and Sanfrecce Hiroshima will both be looking to end their respective losing skids this weekend.
Cerezo Osaka vs FC Tokyo
FC Tokyo are still flying high atop the J1 League standings. They remain unbeaten in 12 games thus far this season and have now built up a six-point lead over Nagoya Grampus and Oita Trinita.
They are coming off another impressive 2-0 win at home against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, which was highlighted as one of last week’s top matchups. But Sapporo were once again without top striker Andeson Lopes, which FC Tokyo capitalised upon.
That win also extended Tokyo’s impressive streak of clean sheets to five league matches. And if you include cup games as well, they haven’t actually conceded a goal for an incredible eight matches.
Tokyo will look to extend their lead this weekend when they face mid-table Cerezo Osaka. Cerezo suffered a 1-0 defeat to city rivals Gamba in the Osaka Derby during their most recent league outing, which ended their three-match unbeaten run.
But Cerezo did bounce back by beating Oita Trinita 2-0 in the Levain Cup. Brazilian midfielder Souza bagged a brace for Cerezo, who have not been able to find the net too often this season. They have scored just 10 goals thus far, which is tied for the third fewest in the league.
FC Tokyo’s excellent defence, which has conceded just five goals this season (the fewest in the league), will fancy its chances of maintaining its clean sheet streak as they go up against Cerezo’s misfiring attack.
Despite being away from home, most J-League 2019 predictions will likely still pick Tokyo to maintain their undefeated record in Osaka.
Oita Trinita vs Kawasaki Frontale
This third-vs-fourth clash between Oita Trinita and Kawasaki Frontale is without question the pick of Section 13 fixtures in the J-League.
Oita enter the match on a seven-match unbeaten run in the league (three wins, three draws). Although, they did drop some valuable points after only getting a 1-1 draw at home against bottom club Shimizu S-Pulse.
But still, Oita will be tough to beat at home, in large part thanks to a defence which has given up just seven goals thus far (second only to FC Tokyo). And in attack, Noriaki Fujimoto — the J-League’s co-leading scorer with seven goals — is quite capable of supplying the goals.
However, Kawasaki Frontale have no problems scoring goals themselves. After all, they’re the third-top scorers in the league with 19 goals and have scored four goals in two of their last three matches. Their defence isn’t too bad, either, with just eight goals conceded.
Like Oita, the defending champions are also riding a nice unbeaten streak of six games. They recently had their five-match winning run ended after a 1-1 draw at home against second-placed Nagoya Grampus.
Those two really can’t afford to drop more points as Tokyo continue to pick up wins. But with both teams quite evenly matched, there’s a decent chance that this top-of-the-table affair ends in another stalemate.
Urawa Red Diamonds vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima
While Oita and Kawasaki are both riding high in the J-League, Urawa Red Diamonds and Sanfrecce Hiroshima are going great guns in the AFC Champions League. Both clubs are safely into the knock-out stage of the tournament after picking up wins in midweek.
Urawa thrashed Beijing FC 3-0 at home, which likely helped them get over their heart-breaking defeat against Shonan Bellmare last time out in the league. That match featured one of the top J-League 2019 highlights as Shonan scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner.
While Urawa have been performing well in the Champions League, their league form has undoubtedly suffered. They have lost their last three league games in a row, two of which were at home.
Hiroshima have been suffering from a similar problem as they’ve dropped their last five league outings. More concerningly, they have scored just one goal in those five defeats.
Given both clubs’ recent poor forms — not to mention their struggles in front of goal — they likely wouldn’t mind a draw to pick up a point and end their respective losing skids.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
