Kawasaki Frontale vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Kawasaki Frontale and Sanfrecce Hiroshima are set to square off in a blockbuster J1 League encounter at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium.

Following an underwhelming three-game losing run in all competitions, Kawasaki Frontale have steadied the ship, winning the last two matches by an aggregate score of 5-1, including a 3-1 triumph over lower-league Tochigi City in midweek Emperor’s Cup action. But Toru Oniki’s men can ill-afford to rest on their laurels after an indifferent 15-game J1 League start (W6, D3, L6), as they risk falling out of the AFC Champions League promotion pace already in the first half of the season. With third-placed Nagoya Grampus 11 points clear, any slip-up could prove costly. But there’s a silver lining. Kawasaki’s woeful five-match winless home league start (D3, L2) is now well behind them, as they’ve won their last two top-flight fixtures on home turf without conceding.

As for Hiroshima, consistency remains a gaping problem for Michael Skibbe’s troops, as they’ve alternated between winning (2) and losing (2) across their last four J1 League games, most recently dispatching Kyoto Sanga 3-1 at home. However, problems often arise when they depart their home ground. A five-game unbeaten away league start (W4, D1) now looks like a distant memory, with ‘Viola’ losing on their last three top-flight travels. Each defeat in that sequence saw them concede precisely two goals, highlighting a porous backline as the team’s weakest link. If that’s not enough to dampen the spirits in the traveling camp, Hiroshima have lost three of their last four league visits to Kawasaki (D1), conceding 4+ goals twice along the way.