🏏 Sat, 12 Sep 2026 19:00 JST
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
vs
Cerezo Osaka
3-4-2-1 vs 3-4-2-1
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- Just one point separates these two. Hiroshima are sixth on 11 points from six matches (3-2-1), and their +8 goal difference — 13 scored, five conceded — is among the best in the division. Cerezo sit tenth on 10 points (3-1-2) but have managed only five goals and conceded five for a level goal difference. With leaders Machida Zelvia already on 16, neither side can afford to drift.
- Recent form points in opposite directions. Hiroshima followed a 3-0 home demolition of Nagoya Grampus in round five by losing 3-2 away at Fagiano Okayama, leaving a W-D-D-W-L sequence. Cerezo have alternated (L-W-L-W-D), seeing off Kashiwa Reysol 2-0 at home in round five before a goalless draw with Tokyo Verdy at the same venue.
- Both teams set up in a 3-4-2-1, so the double-pivot battle will shape the rhythm. Hiroshima pair 20-year-old Yotaro Nakashima — a defensive midfielder who signed the fastest professional contract in club history at 17 and won the Levain Cup newcomer award — with 31-year-old Shun Kawabe, a central midfielder who has played in four European countries including Standard Liege and Wolverhampton. Cerezo reply with 183cm anchor Shunta Tanaka and Australia international Jackson Irvine, 33, who has 81 caps and 14 goals and captained St. Pauli.
- In a mirrored 3-4-2-1, the wing-back duels usually open first. Toshiki Higashi, 26, takes Hiroshima's left flank, an academy graduate whose accurate left foot also delivers the free kicks and corners. He meets 25-year-old Yuto Okuda on Cerezo's right, an attacking full-back who came through the Gamba Osaka academy, developed at Momoyama Gakuin University and has represented Japan at U-23 level.
- Naoto Arai faces a former employer. The 29-year-old right-back moved from Albirex Niigata to Cerezo Osaka, then Tokushima Vortis, before settling at Hiroshima, and he is a defender with a genuine scoring record — he struck a hat-trick in his debut season at Sanfrecce. Taishi Matsumoto, a 28-year-old central midfielder capped at the 2019 Copa America who also spent time at Cerezo, waits on the same bench.
- Five goals in six games is Cerezo's problem, and the fix probably runs through Lucas Fernandes. The 32-year-old right-sided midfielder won the J.League assist crown in consecutive seasons and arrived from Consadole Sapporo with a reputation for crossing and clever through balls. Thiago Andrade, 25, works the left with dribbling sharpened at New York City FC and Toronto FC, aiming at 190cm, 91kg centre-forward Solomon Sakuragawa.
- The back lines carry real pedigree. Hiroshima build around 36-year-old captain Sho Sasaki, a 2024 J1 Best XI centre-back, with 186cm Hayato Araki alongside and Keisuke Osako — another 2024 Best XI selection — behind them. Cerezo counter with two-footed Shinnosuke Hatanaka, a member of Yokohama F. Marinos' 2019 title-winning side, and Reohito Inoue, who helped lift Kyoto Sanga into J1, in front of 2018 World Cup squad goalkeeper Kosuke Nakamura.
- The benches could decide a tight evening. Cerezo can call on 37-year-old Shinji Kagawa, the attacking midfielder who starred for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United, plus left-back Ayumu Ohata, an AFC Champions League winner with Urawa and a Paris Olympian, and 190cm Colombian forward Pablo Sabbag. Hiroshima answer with 37-year-old centre-back Tsukasa Shiotani, back from Al Ain, the fierce left foot of Daiki Suga, and South Korea international Kim Ju-sung.