Urawa Red Diamonds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 01/08/20

01 August 2020

Urawa Red Diamonds will look to post a third straight J1 League home win over Shimizu S-Pulse when the two sides meet at the Saitama Stadium this weekend.

The hosts go into this encounter on the back of a 2-0 away win over Yokohama, which now means none of their last five J1 League outings have ended in a draw (W3, L2). All but one of those results (wins/losses) have seen the winner on the day score over 1.5 goals, whilst the last four also yielded a clean sheet. The ‘Red Devils’ usually break their chains post halftime, with 64.71% (11) of their 17 J1 League goals scored/conceded arriving in the second half of play. However, for Urawa, goals have been at a premium at home this season. Tsuyoshi Otsuki’s players have scored just once in the opening three league games on home turf so far (W1, D1, L1).

As for the visitors, they have overseen an upturn in form recently, going from five consecutive J1 League defeats to two straight games without a loss (W1, D1). Despite an underwhelming start to the season, Shimizu have been an exciting team to watch. Indeed, six of their opening seven league matches have seen both teams score, with five producing over 2.5 goals. Yet, a leaky defense that has conceded the division’s second-high 15 goals could be a reason for concern. Particularly vulnerable in the second half, Peter Cklamovski’s men have shipped 66.67% of their league goals after the break (10/15). But, after finding the net in six of their last seven top-flight H2Hs (D2, L5), Shimizu must be confident of getting on the scoresheet here.