🏏 Sat, 29 Aug 2026 19:00 JST
Urawa
vs
Yokohama F. Marinos
4-1-4-1 vs 4-2-3-1
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- Urawa Reds are 19th with zero points from three matches, having scored five and conceded 11 for a goal difference of -6. Only JEF United Chiba are also still pointless. Yokohama F. Marinos arrive fifth on six points, while leaders Machida Zelvia are already nine clear of the hosts.
- Every Urawa defeat has involved multiple goals against: 4-3 away at Gamba Osaka on matchday one, 4-1 at home to fourth-placed Sanfrecce Hiroshima on matchday two, and 3-1 away at leaders Machida Zelvia on matchday three. Eleven goals shipped in three games is the pressing issue; five scored suggests the attack is not the root of the problem.
- Yokohama lost their opener 4-3 at home to Kashima in a shootout, then won 1-0 away at Shimizu S-Pulse and 1-0 at home against Vissel Kobe. Both wins came with clean sheets, meaning all four goals they have conceded this season arrived on the opening day.
- Urawa's bench holds two players returning to face Yokohama. Kota Mizunuma, 36, spent time at the Marinos as well as Cerezo Osaka, FC Tokyo and Sagan Tosu, and remains a specialist in accurate crossing from the right. Ado Onaiwu, 30, also came through Yokohama before a European run at Toulouse, Auxerre and Magdeburg; he scored in each of his first three appearances for Japan.
- Yokohama have their own reunion candidate in 23-year-old striker Rio Futada, a former Urawa player. He moved abroad at 18 after Sagan Tosu and finished top scorer in Austria's third tier with Wacker Innsbruck, and his sharp movement into space makes him a live option from the bench against his old club.
- Urawa's 4-1-4-1 is led by Hiito Komori, the 26-year-old centre-forward who swept the J2 scoring title, MVP award and Best XI selection and later played in Belgium with Sint-Truiden, finishing with either foot or his head. Around him, Matheus Savio, the 29-year-old Brazilian schooled at Flamengo and made his name at Kashiwa Reysol, supplies through balls, while Takuro Kaneko, 29, cuts in off the right on his favoured left foot after spells with Dinamo Zagreb and Kortrijk.
- The midfield contrast is striking. Urawa's single pivot is Hayate Ueki, a former captain at Nihon University prized for his left-footed range and game control. Yokohama's double pivot pairs Kei Chinen, the 31-year-old converted forward who once topped the J1 duel charts after spells at Kashima and Kawasaki Frontale, with Kosuke Matsumura, 22, who made his J1 debut as a designated player while still studying at Hosei University.
- Yokohama also start 16-year-old Makoto Mitsuidera, an Aomori native who joined the Marinos youth set-up from FC Forkla Klasse Sendai and only signed professional terms in April 2026. Behind the front line, 35-year-old Jun Amano provides the balance: an academy graduate labelled the heir to Shunsuke Nakamura, whose left-footed set pieces were sharpened during stints with Jeonbuk, Ulsan and Lokeren.
- The goalkeeping duel is generational. Urawa's Shusaku Nishikawa, 40 and 183cm, has passed 600 J1 appearances and builds play with a precise left foot. Yokohama field Ruben Blanco, the 31-year-old, 188cm Spaniard who came through Celta's academy, spent years as their first choice in La Liga, moved to Marseille in 2022 and was at Girona in the first half of 2026.
- At the back, Urawa pair left-footed Kenta Nemoto, the 23-year-old 184cm graduate of Ryutsu Keizai University, with Brazilian Danilo Boza, 28 and 184cm, who played in Brazil's top flight with Vasco da Gama and Santos. Yokohama go tall and specialised, lining up four natural centre-backs: Ryotaro Tsunoda, 27, who tried Europe with Cardiff City and Kortrijk, 186cm Kosei Suwama, 187cm Colombian Jason Quinones, and 183cm Taisei Inoue.