🏏 Sat, 15 Aug 2026 18:30 JST
Shimizu S-pulse
vs
Yokohama F. Marinos
4-1-4-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Shimizu begin the evening in eighth after opening the campaign with a 1-0 win away at Nagoya Grampus, worth three points and a +1 goal difference. Yokohama F. Marinos sit 14th on zero points following a 3-4 home defeat to Kashima in which they shipped four goals. With Kashiwa Reysol already on six points from two matches at the top, the hosts are chasing back-to-back wins while the visitors hunt a first victory of the season.
- Shimizu line up in a 4-1-4-1 against Yokohama's 4-2-3-1, so the shape of the midfield contest is the first thing to watch. Brazilian Dieguinho, 30, formerly of Goias and Ceara, sits alone in front of the Shimizu back four, and whether Yokohama can screen him will shape how cleanly the hosts progress the ball. Yokohama answer with an unusual double pivot: Kei Chinen, 31, a converted forward who won J1's duel crown, alongside 22-year-old Kosuke Matsumura, a Hosei University special-designated player who made his J1 bow in April 2025.
- Shimizu's front line has a shared thread: all three of the most advanced attackers list Sanfrecce Hiroshima among their former clubs. Lone striker Kosuke Kinoshita, 31, has played in Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Norway and scored 11 goals for Kashiwa in 2024. Ryo Germain, 31, is a left-footed striker who struck 19 goals in 32 games for Jubilo Iwata in 2024, while Tomoya Fujii, 27, has spells at Kashima and Shonan behind him.
- The two interiors could hardly be more different. Koya Kitagawa, 30, is a Shimizu academy graduate and former Japan international from the 2019 Asian Cup who returned home after a stint at SK Rapid Wien, specialising in runs behind the defence and decoy movement. Beside him, 19-year-old Yudai Shimamoto wore the number 10 at Otsu High School and drove them to a first ever Premier League title, bringing relentless running and a balance of defensive work and goal threat.
- Yokohama's creativity runs through Jun Amano, 35, deployed at the tip of the midfield three. A product of the Marinos academy, he is prized for the accuracy of his left foot from set pieces and through balls, and has returned after spells at Jeonbuk Hyundai, Ulsan Hyundai and Sporting Lokeren in Belgium. Flanking him are 25-year-old Yuki Kondo, sharpened at Yokohama FC and Consadole Sapporo, and 16-year-old Makoto Miidera, who only signed professional terms in April 2026.
- After conceding four on the opening weekend, Yokohama field a back four made up entirely of natural centre-backs. Ryotaro Tsunoda, 27, is a left-footed defender with Cardiff City and KV Kortrijk on his CV; Kosei Suwama, 23, is a 186cm academy graduate; Colombian Jason Quinones stands 187cm and once scored eight goals in 34 competitive games for Aguilas Doradas; and Taisei Inoue, 23, played all 38 J2 matches in his debut season at Sagan Tosu. Their task is handling the 182cm pair of Kinoshita and Germain.
- Shimizu's own defensive line is unconventional too, with two natural left-backs, 35-year-old Yuki Honda and 27-year-old Hidehiro Sugai, stationed on either flank. Honda's reported one-metre vertical leap makes him a menace in the air despite his size, while the 172cm Sugai repeatedly gets up and down the touchline to deliver crosses, and he will have to handle the pace of Yuki Kondo. In the middle, South Korea international Park Seung-wook, 29 and 184cm, arrives from Pohang Steelers with the passing range to start attacks.
- The goalkeeping contrast is a story in itself. Shimizu's Togo Umeda, 26, came through the club's own academy and ruptured his right ACL while on loan at Fagiano Okayama, only to return and post a save percentage above 90 per cent, among the best in J1. Yokohama's Ruben Blanco, 31 and 188cm, was raised at Celta and spent years as their first-choice keeper in LaLiga before moving to Marseille in 2022 and turning out for Girona in the first half of 2026.
- Shimizu carry genuine game-changers on the bench. Capixaba, a 29-year-old left-footed Brazilian winger signed permanently from Cerezo Osaka, offers powerful dribbling on the flank, while Kazuki Kozuka, 32, an attacking midfielder whose career has taken in Albirex Niigata, Kawasaki Frontale and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, can change the rhythm of a game. Left-footed dribbler Kai Matsuzaki, 28, and academy product Kanta Chiba, 23, add further options.
- Yokohama's substitutes are just as eye-catching. Ryo Miyaichi, 33, joined Arsenal at 18 and later played for Feyenoord and FC St. Pauli, rebuilding his career after repeated serious knee injuries but retaining explosive speed. Takuya Kida, 31, a one-club academy graduate and captain since 2019, is the man to steady the midfield, while Rio Futa, 23, a former third-tier top scorer in Austria with Wacker Innsbruck, and homegrown midfielder Riku Yamane, 22, wait alongside him.