The title race is getting tighter in the ongoing J-League as we are approaching the latter stages of the tournament with less than two months to go.
After holding a sizeable lead a few weeks back, other contenders have caught up with FC Tokyo as the latter had some trouble against some of their notable opponents. The league leaders currently have 52 points and are still clinging on to a four-point lead.
The Kashima Antlers, Yokohama F. Marinos, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and Cerezo Osaka are well within striking distance with their points around in the mid-40’s, and for sure they are aiming to close the gap in the next few weeks.
On the other hand, back-to-back champions Kawasaki Frontale’s J-League 2019 odds of repeating anew are in danger as they slipped further to the table having only 41 points.
The 26th section of the 2019 J-League season will feature some intense matches between contenders that would pose some huge ramifications, and SBOBET is here to give you a preview of what’s ahead.
Kawasaki Frontale vs Jubilo Iwata
So far this season, Kawasaki Frontale couldn’t get over the hump over these past few weeks. In their five fixtures last August, they’ve had three draws, one win, and one demoralising loss against the lower seeded Nagoya Grampus in which they didn’t even score a goal. It took them almost a month to get another win in their reverse match later.
As for Jubilo Iwata, well, they are at the bottom of the table for a reason. Save for their rare (yet impressive) win against Vanraure Hachinohe in the Emperor’s Cup, they’ve been on a losing streak since mid-July and if things don’t change drastically soon, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are going to be relegated for next season.
With Kawasaki Frontale looking to salvage their repeat bid, perhaps this match will give them a boost. I expect striker Yu Kobayashi to be aggressive in this match as he adds on to his goal totals this season. Other guys like Leandro Damiao and Hiroyuki Abe are expected to score in this match as well.
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima
With only two points between them, the winner of this match may probably end up as the third seed of the J-League table with the Yokohama F. Marinos having 45 points while the Sanfrecce Hiroshima are not far behind with 43.
Both of these teams have enjoyed the month of August as they managed to rack up some wins, albeit mostly against their lower-seeded counterparts. The Yokohama F. Marinos dominated the likes of Nagoya Grampus and Gamba Osaka by scoring eight total goals in those games while Sanfrecce Hiroshima posted clean sheets in majority of their victories at that time.
While the Yokohama-based squad simply took care of business, Sanfrecce Hiroshima made a strong statement by winning against league leaders FC Tokyo on the road. However, they failed to build momentum so far this month with a loss and a draw against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo in the J-League YBC Levain Cup quarterfinals.
As for the Yokohama F. Marinos, they are expected to have a challenging September too as they’ll face two of the top contenders in two straight weeks. For starters, they will face Sanfrecce Hiroshima as mentioned, and they’ll face the second-seeded Kashima Antlers in the 16th round of the Emperor’s Cup.
Forwards Marcos Junior and Edigar Junio are expected to lead the charge for the team, but they would need ample support from others as well.
Kashima Antlers vs FC Tokyo
Two of the league leaders Kashima Antlers and FC Tokyo are set to clash in a match that would surely produce some of the best J-League 2019 highlights.
The Antlers are inching closer to the top of the table as they have never lost since the start of August. They’ve managed to notch five wins and three draws in that month and they’ll need all the momentum coming into their showdown against FC Tokyo.
Kashima team manager Go Oiwa will have to figure out on how to handle the scoring duo of Diego Oliveira and Kensuke Nagai as the two FC Tokyo forwards have poured in 13 and eight goals respectively.
Speaking of FC Tokyo, they can’t afford any slip-ups from now on, which is why this upcoming game is of utmost importance. Once they get past the Antlers in this one, they’ll have a chance to break away with the lead since they’ll face low seeds Matsumoto Yamaga FC, Sagan Tosu, and Vissel Kobe in their next three fixtures.
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