🏏 Sat, 23 May 2026 14:00 JST
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
vs
Nagoya Grampus
3-4-2-1 vs 3-4-2-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- This upper-table clash between 7th-placed Sanfrecce Hiroshima (25 points from 17 games) and 3rd-placed Nagoya Grampus (28 points from 16 games) is an important game with an ACL place at stake. Hiroshima have lifted their form with back-to-back wins, but a victory is essential to stay in the title race nine points behind leaders Kashima (34 points from 15 games). Nagoya were heavily beaten 1-6 by Cerezo Osaka last time out, but before that they had stayed in form with three straight wins.
- In the Matchday 7 meeting at Nagoya's home, Nagoya won 2-1, so Hiroshima will seek revenge at home. Hiroshima are steady with two wins, two draws and a loss in their last five, but Nagoya are roughly even with three wins, a draw and a loss over their last five. Both teams have scoring power (Hiroshima 25 goals, Nagoya 28) and solid defences (Hiroshima 19 conceded, Nagoya 23), so a tight, evenly-matched game is expected.
- Both sides set up in a 3-4-2-1 mirror match, so the battle between the central midfielders will decide it. Hiroshima pair Shun Kawabe (178cm, formerly of Standard Liege with playing experience in four European countries and a Japan debut in 2021) with Naoto Arai (173cm, a right WB who hit a hat-trick in his debut season). Against them, Nagoya's Tomoki Takamine (175cm, formerly of Kashima and Yokohama FC) and Takuya Uchida (177cm, an FC Tokyo academy product) look to dominate midfield.
- Hiroshima's attack features Akito Suzuki (191cm, formerly of Shonan, 13 goals in J2 in 2023) as a lone striker, with Sota Nakamura (a Verdy U-18 product) and Rikutsuki Kato (173cm, formerly of Roasso Kumamoto, 17 goals and 8 assists in J2 in 2024) in the second line. Nagoya field Yuya Yamagishi (179cm, formerly of Fukushima, 15 goals in J2 in 2024) as a lone striker, supported by Yuta Kimura (173cm, formerly of Sapporo, the 2024 J2 Golden Boot winner with 16 goals) and Ryuji Izumi (173cm, formerly of Kashima, a national champion and Golden Boot winner in his Ichiritsu Funabashi High School days).
- One to watch is Hiroshima substitute Yasushi Matsumoto (175cm, a 2019 Copa America Japan representative). Having played for Nagoya until last season, this is his first match against his former club since moving to Hiroshima. Nagoya goalkeeper Daniel Schmidt (197cm, formerly of KAA Gent and a Japan international) commands aerial balls with his overwhelming height, and his contrast with Hiroshima's Issei Ouchi (184cm, born in Italy, a Japan U-15 to U-17 player) is also a highlight.
- Hiroshima's back three is full of quality, with former Japan international Sho Sasaki (a 2024 J1 Best XI selection), Daichi Yamasaki (183cm, with U-17 World Cup experience) and Tsukasa Shiotani (180cm, formerly of Al Ain FC and a Japan representative at the 2015 and 2019 Asian Cups). Nagoya are also experienced with Yuhei Tokumoto (171cm, a left WB formerly of FC Ryukyu), Yaya Fujii (185cm, formerly of KV Kortrijk and a Japan international) and Yuki Nogami (180cm, formerly of Hiroshima), so the two sides' resolute defences will collide.