Five points separate Urawa Red Diamonds and Kawasaki Frontale in the J1 League table. On Saturday, the two clubs will meet with three massive J1 League points on the line.
Urawa Red Diamonds are fourth in the standings ahead of round No 18. The Red Diamonds are seven points off first-place Yokohama F. Marinos. A loss to Kawasaki Frontale could see Urawa fall too far off the title pace.
日本代表活動を終えた #伊藤敦樹 が、本日午後、大原サッカー場に戻ってきました♦️6/24(土)の川崎戦(埼スタ・19:30)に向け、体を動かしました⚽️#おかえりなさい #urawareds #浦和レッズ #WeareREDS #Jリーグ pic.twitter.com/QSth54ZDmo— 浦和レッズオフィシャル (@REDSOFFICIAL) June 21, 2023
日本代表活動を終えた #伊藤敦樹 が、本日午後、大原サッカー場に戻ってきました♦️6/24(土)の川崎戦(埼スタ・19:30)に向け、体を動かしました⚽️#おかえりなさい #urawareds #浦和レッズ #WeareREDS #Jリーグ pic.twitter.com/QSth54ZDmo
Kawasaki Frontale are ninth in the table, with 24 points from 16 matches. Frontale go into the match on Saturday in good form thanks to back-to-back wins.
Round 18 will see Urawa Red Diamonds and Kawasaki Frontale play for the fourth time this campaign.
The teams met once in the league, and the match finished 1-1. Frontale’s Yasuto Wakisaka opened the scoring in the 48th minute, but Urawa’s Bryan Linssen equalised with nine minutes to play.
The teams met twice in the Japan Cup as well. Their first cup meeting ended nil-nil, but Urawa Red Diamonds posted a 2-1 win in the reverse cup fixture.
In the last six meetings between these teams, Urawa Red Diamonds recorded a record of 3W-2D-1L. They outscored Kawasaki 9-5.
Urawa go into the game in great form. They went unbeaten in their last six matches, picking up 12 points from 18 possible, and scoring seven goals. The defence conceded just two goals across the last six fixtures.
Kawasaki Frontale also took 12 points from their last six games. The Frontale defence was excellent during those six fixtures, conceding just seven times.
Neither team is proficient in front of goal. Urawa Red Diamonds scored 20 goals in their 16 J1 League games. Likewise, Kawasaki Frontale scored 20 goals in their 16 league matches. It is the defence that has both clubs in midtable.
No team in the J1 League has allowed fewer goals than Urawa Red Diamonds.
The team has allowed a mere 12 goals. Meanwhile, Kawasaki Frontale conceded just 18 times in 16 games.
How poor are these teams at scoring goals? Urawa’s leading scorers Alexander Scholz and Shinzo Koroki have combined for six goals, three apiece.
Meanwhile, Kawasaki Frontale’s leading goalscorer is Taisei Miyashiro, with four.
In three previous meetings this season, Urawa conceded just two goals against Kawasaki Frontale. Four of Urawa Red Diamonds’ last five games saw them keep clean sheets.
They kept back-to-back clean sheets in the J1 League and should do it again on Saturday.
Urawa Red Diamonds should post a 2-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale at home. The win could send Urawa closer to lead leader Yokohama.