🏏 Sat, 12 Sep 2026 19:00 JST
V-varen Nagasaki
vs
Nagoya Grampus
3-4-2-1 vs 4-1-2-1-2
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- Eighteenth against fifteenth, with both sides stuck near the bottom. Nagasaki have taken four points from six matches (1-1-4), scoring seven and conceding 14 for a -7 goal difference that is among the worst in the division. Nagoya sit on six points from a 2-0-4 record — no draws at all. With Tokyo Verdy and JEF United Chiba both on three points below them, Nagasaki cannot afford to slip further.
- Neither has much momentum. Nagasaki's L-L-L-D-L run includes a 3-0 home defeat to FC Tokyo in round four and a 3-1 loss at Vissel Kobe in round six, with their only point coming in a 2-2 home draw with Gamba Osaka. Nagoya (L-W-W-L-L) beat Gamba 3-1 and Fagiano Okayama 2-1 at home in rounds three and four before losing 3-0 at Sanfrecce Hiroshima and 3-1 at home to leaders Machida Zelvia.
- The shape clash is the story: Nagasaki's 3-4-2-1 against Nagoya's 4-1-2-1-2. The visitors' diamond is anchored by 34-year-old Sho Inagaki, a defensive midfielder who regularly covers more than 11km a game, with Tomoki Takamine and his fierce left foot at the tip. That congests the centre but leaves the flanks thin, so the width provided by Nagasaki's wing-backs — particularly 31-year-old left-sided Sei Onaga — could be decisive.
- Three Nagasaki players have Nagoya on their CV. Holding midfielder Riku Yamada, 28, a second-ball specialist who came through the Omiya academy and passed through Ventforet Kofu and Nagoya, starts in the double pivot. Centre-back Kazuaki Arai, 32 and 186cm, also spent time at Nagoya and remains a threat from set pieces. On the bench sits 187cm striker Ryogo Yamasaki, 33, who once scored an AFC Champions League hat-trick in Nagoya colours.
- Nagasaki's seven goals have come largely through their overseas front line. Thiago Santana, 33, is a 184cm left-footed centre-forward who proved his scoring credentials at Shimizu S-Pulse and Urawa Reds. Behind him operates 186cm Matheus Jesus, the 2025 J2 MVP who previously played for Gamba Osaka and Corinthians, alongside 27-year-old Genki Hasegawa, a creative attacking midfielder with J1 experience at Albirex Niigata.
- Two veteran ball-winners meet in midfield. Hotaru Yamaguchi, 35, spent long spells at Cerezo Osaka and Vissel Kobe, had a stint at Hannover 96 and played at a World Cup for Japan; he once led the league in interceptions and still reads danger early. Sho Inagaki, 34, is the late bloomer who did not make his Japan debut until 29 and now covers ground relentlessly across the pitch. Whoever wins the second balls should control the tempo.
- Nagoya's front two are 33-year-old Yuya Yamagishi and 32-year-old Ryuji Izumi. Yamagishi, 183cm, offers a physical focal point and aggressive pressing, and won the Levain Cup with Avispa Fukuoka. Inside him is 184cm Yudai Kimura, 25, who wore the number 10 and hit double figures for Tokyo Verdy, with left-back Yuhei Tokumoto supplying crosses and set pieces from the left. Nagasaki's back three includes Ryosuke Shindo, 30, a Japan international who played on the right of Mihailo Petrovic's back three at Consadole Sapporo.
- The goalkeepers and benches add intrigue. Nagoya have 197cm Daniel Schmidt, 34, a Japan international with four years of Belgian football at KAA Gent and Sint-Truiden, while Nagasaki field 190cm Masaaki Goto, who played every league match for three straight seasons at Montedio Yamagata. In reserve, Nagasaki hold Diego Pituca, the 34-year-old midfielder with 169 appearances for Santos, and 35-year-old club icon Takashi Sawada; Nagoya can call on playmaker Tsukasa Morishima and 160cm left-footed technician Taichi Kikuchi.