Kawasaki Frontale vs Cerezo Osaka

The stakes are high for downtrodden J1 League giants Kawasaki Frontale ahead of Cerezo Osaka’s visit to Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium.

Beleaguered Kawasaki cannot catch a break. After four consecutive J1 League draws nailed them down to the bottom half of the table, their Emperor’s Cup run ended in midweek at the hands of Oita Trinita, who dispatched them 3-1 at this venue. Long-serving manager Toru Oniki is walking a tightrope and cannot afford another slip-up after his team slumped to 15th in the J1 League table, only three points clear of the bottom three. However, Kawasaki’s dreadful win ratio of only 23% across the opening 22 rounds (W5, D9, L8) cannot inspire much confidence. On the upside, four of Kawasaki’s five top-flight victories have come on home turf, where they’re unbeaten across their last seven league outings (W3, D4).

In the meantime, Cerezo Osaka experienced the same fate as Kawasaki in midweek Emperor’s Cup action, bowing out after extra time against Kofu. However, the visitors are unbeaten in regulation across their last eight competitive matches (W4, D4), suggesting a third consecutive league win against Kawasaki could be on the cards. Impressively, they’ve got the better of this opposition in four of their last five top-flight H2Hs (D1), registering a clean sheet in their most recent three. Against this backdrop, Hiroaki Morishima’s men have conceded on their last four competitive road trips (D4). On another downside, it’s been two months since Cerezo Osaka won a league game away from home, beating Avispa Fukuoka 3-0 in mid-May.