🏏 Sun, 11 Oct 2026 16:00 JST
Kawasaki Frontale
vs
Nagoya Grampus
4-2-3-1 vs 3-4-1-2
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- A meeting of two clubs in very different places. Kawasaki Frontale are eighth on 13 points from eight games (3W-4D-1L, +4), while Nagoya Grampus sit 17th with six points from two wins and six defeats and a -7 goal difference. Leaders Kashiwa Reysol have 21 points from nine matches, so the hosts still have a game in hand to chase with, and Nagoya are level on points with 18th-placed Gamba Osaka. The sides have not met yet this season.
- Recent form points in opposite directions. Kawasaki are unbeaten in three after a 3-1 home win over Shimizu S-Pulse in round 6, a 1-0 win away at Mito Hollyhock in round 7 and a 3-3 shootout with Kashima in round 8. Nagoya have lost four straight — 0-3 at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, 1-3 at home to Machida Zelvia, 0-2 at V-Varen Nagasaki and 0-1 at FC Tokyo — managing a single goal across that sequence and only seven in eight league outings.
- Kawasaki line up in a 4-2-3-1 against Nagoya's 3-4-1-2, and the central battle looks decisive. The home double pivot pairs 169cm destroyer Kento Tachibanada, nicknamed Japan's own Kante for his relentless ball-winning, with deep playmaker Yuki Yamamoto, who arrived from Gamba Osaka and specialises in disguised through balls and switches of play. Nagoya counter with 34-year-old Sho Inagaki, a midfielder who routinely covers more than 11km a match, alongside the sharp-eyed Tsukasa Morishima.
- Yasuto Wakizaka is the hub of the Kawasaki attack from the No.10 role. The 31-year-old was named in the J.League Best XI three seasons running from 2021 and rarely loses the ball in tight spaces. Either side of him are Marcinho, the 31-year-old Brazilian whose explosive first strides stretch defences in behind, and left-footed Tatsuya Ito, a Hamburger SV and Magdeburg alumnus who scored 13 league goals in 2025, with 191cm Derik Lacerda leading the line.
- Nagoya pair 25-year-old Yudai Kimura with 37-year-old Kensuke Nagai up front, a contrast in generations. Kimura is a 184cm centre-forward who wore the No.10 shirt and hit double figures at Tokyo Verdy, while Nagai remains one of Japan's fastest forwards and scored in the knockout rounds of the 2012 London Olympics. Behind them Takuya Uchida, a product of the FC Tokyo academy who can fill several roles, is asked to connect the lines.
- Yuichi Maruyama faces a former club from the Kawasaki bench. The 37-year-old left-footed centre-back spent years as a regular at both FC Tokyo and Nagoya Grampus and has been capped by Japan, bringing accurate distribution and reliable covering. If he is introduced late on, he does so knowing the habits of the Nagoya attack better than anyone on the pitch.
- Nagoya's back three features two men who both passed through KV Kortrijk in Belgium: 25-year-old Haruya Fujii, a 185cm defender who combines aerial power with genuine recovery pace, and Tomoki Takamine, whose ferocious left-footed strikes brought ten goals and a Best XI place in J2 in 2025. Alongside them is 35-year-old Yuki Nogami, a reader of the game who established himself as a 4-4-2 centre-back at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, tasked with handling the towering Lacerda.
- Both of Kawasaki's full-backs are left-footed. Sota Miura, 26, developed at Ventforet Kofu before earning a first senior Japan call-up in 2024 and thrives on overlapping runs and crosses, while 165cm Reon Yamahara spent four seasons at Shimizu S-Pulse and is known for his dead-ball delivery and dipping long-range shots. The quality of their service will decide whether Nagoya's back three can be pinned deep.
- The goalkeeping duel is worth watching too. Nagoya have 197cm Japan international Daniel Schmidt, whose spells at KAA Gent and Sint-Truiden sharpened his distribution as well as his shot-stopping. Kawasaki answer with 188cm German Svend Brodersen, a St. Pauli youth graduate who helped both Yokohama FC and Fagiano Okayama win promotion to J1 and is comfortable building with either foot.
- Two high-class substitutes could tilt the second half. Kawasaki can call on 40-year-old Akihiro Ienaga, the 2018 J.League MVP whose languid close control still slows or quickens a game at will. Nagoya hold back Mateus Castro, the 32-year-old Brazilian known for his devilish left foot, a mainstay since 2020 who returned in 2025 after a spell with Al-Taawoun in Saudi Arabia and remains a threat from distance and from free kicks.