Derby Weekend: Mitoma Meets Kamada, Itakura Goes Back to Where It Started

Mitoma's Brighton host Kamada and Tomiyasu in the M23 derby

• No Premier League fixture is more Japanese than this one. Kaoru Mitoma, the Tsukuba University graduate who left Kawasaki Frontale for Europe, breaks lines on the Brighton left with his changes of pace and short touches. Waiting for him is Takehiro Tomiyasu, four seasons an Arsenal player, a 187cm defender comfortable at right-back, centre-back or in front of the back four.
• Crystal Palace's other Japan international is just as interesting. Daichi Kamada won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt and still provides the decisive pass and the late run into the box from midfield. Under Oliver Glasner, one vertical ball from him to Ismaila Sarr or Jean-Philippe Mateta can turn Brighton's defensive line around in an instant.
• The midfield contrast carries the tactical weight. Fabian Hurzeler can field Mats Wieffer, a Conference League winner with Feyenoord, alongside Matt O'Riley, once voted the Scottish Premiership's best player at Celtic, and Pascal Gross, back from Borussia Dortmund. Palace counter with Adam Wharton's left foot and the ball-winning of Cheick Doucoure and Jefferson Lerma.

Leeds and Ao Tanaka welcome United, with Daniel James facing his old club

• Leeds run through Ao Tanaka. He touches the ball roughly ninety times a game and keeps his pass completion exceptionally high, a rhythm-setter who travelled from Kawasaki Frontale via Fortuna Dusseldorf to the Premier League. Pairing him with the 194cm German international Anton Stach sets up an intriguing battle with Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo.
• Both benches contain men returning to familiar ground. Daniel James, a Swansea City product, spent time at Manchester United and remains one of the quickest wingers in the division on the counter. United goalkeeper Karl Darlow, meanwhile, took the gloves at Leeds after his long spell at Newcastle and helped drive their promotion push.
• The forward lines are a study in contrasts. Daniel Farke can lead with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, nine years an Everton centre-forward, supported by the left-footed Joel Piroe and former AC Milan attacker Noah Okafor. Michael Carrick answers with the 195cm Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Marcus Rashford, back at Old Trafford after his time at Barcelona.

Daizen Maeda runs at City's high line as Ipswich stack the box

• This is the sternest test yet of what Daizen Maeda brings to England. A J1 Golden Boot winner who came up through Matsumoto Yamaga, Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama F. Marinos before nearly five years at Celtic, he offers extraordinary pace and relentless pressing. Against Pep Guardiola's famously high line, the run in behind Josko Gvardiol is the moment to watch for.
• Ipswich have built their defence around size. Issa Diop, 194cm, played Ligue 1 as a teenager at Toulouse and later joined West Ham; Dara O'Shea, 189cm, is an aggressive front-foot Ireland international; Cedric Kipre adds another 193cm frame. How that trio handles crosses and loose balls against Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush will decide the shape of the afternoon.
• City's midfield is a parade of recent business. Elliot Anderson, raised at Newcastle and signed from Nottingham Forest for a record fee for a British player, lines up with Marc Guehi, who arrived from Crystal Palace, and Nico Gonzalez, who matured into a first-choice holder at Porto. Azor Matusiwa and Florentino Luis are charged with slowing Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku.

Betis host Barcelona with Ezzalzouli and Bartra facing their old home

• Two reunions sit on the same team sheet. Abde Ezzalzouli, the explosive Morocco winger, came through Barcelona before settling in Seville, and still cuts in from the left to shoot or slide a pass through. Alongside him, centre-back Marc Bartra is another La Masia graduate, back in Spain after Borussia Dortmund and now the calm voice in the Betis back line.
• Manuel Pellegrini's side rely on craft rather than force. Isco, a four-time Champions League winner at Real Madrid, slows the game down in central areas, while Giovani Lo Celso threads left-footed passes after his years at PSG and Tottenham. On the right, Antony, formerly of Ajax and Manchester United, gives them a genuine one-against-one threat.
• Hansi Flick's Barcelona mix youth and pedigree. Lamine Yamal, born in 2007 and a first-team player at 15, attacks from the right, Raphinha carries the ball on the left after his Leeds United years, and Pedri and Dani Olmo dictate through the middle. Rodri, a Ballon d'Or winner, screens a defence featuring Pau Cubarsi and Jules Kounde.

Valencia and Ryunosuke Sato take on Valverde's Athletic Club

• Valencia's new Japanese teenager is reason enough to tune in. Ryunosuke Sato spent roughly a decade in FC Tokyo's system, from their football school to the first team, before a permanent move to Spain in July 2026. At 171cm he relies on technique and drive rather than power, and how Carlos Corberan fits him around Javi Guerra and Pepelu is the local talking point.
• Ernesto Valverde's Athletic travel with serious individual quality. Nico Williams scored in the EURO 2024 final and was named the tournament's best player, while his brother Inaki, holder of a remarkable La Liga consecutive-appearance streak, leads the line as captain. Oihan Sancet arrives late into the box from midfield, and Unai Simon, Spain's first-choice goalkeeper, is behind them.
• The flanks should settle it. Pablo Maffeo is only 172cm but makes his living sticking tight to wingers, and a duel with Nico Williams would be worth the admission alone. Further forward, Harvey Elliott's left foot, on loan from Liverpool, has to find a way past Aymeric Laporte, a Champions League winner at Manchester City.

Gary O'Neil's young Strasbourg take on Luis Enrique's PSG

• Strasbourg face the champions with one of Europe's youngest squads. Joaquin Panichelli, the 186cm Argentine raised at River Plate, earned his move after a prolific loan at Mirandes and now leads the line. Around him are Sebastian Nanasi, signed from Malmo, and Giovanni Reyna, who at 17 became the youngest American to appear in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
• The squad is also a map of recent English and Portuguese pathways. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is a 192cm Dane who went from Villarreal to Chelsea, midfielder Mathis Amougou broke through at Saint-Etienne and won the bronze ball at the Under-17 World Cup, and Maxi Oyedele came through Manchester United's academy before establishing himself at Legia Warsaw.
• Luis Enrique's PSG will try to win the game in central midfield. Vitinha is almost impossible to press off the ball, with Joao Neves and Warren Zaire-Emery covering the ground around him. Ahead of them sit Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a Serie A champion at Napoli, with Achraf Hakimi sprinting beyond them on the right.

Ko Itakura returns to Groningen, where his European journey began

• This is a personal afternoon for Ko Itakura. The 188cm centre-back came through Kawasaki Frontale and Vegalta Sendai, spent his first European season at Groningen after joining Manchester City, and climbed through Schalke and Borussia Monchengladbach to become the first Japanese player in Ajax's history. His duel-winning and his reading of the game travel well; doing it in front of old supporters is another matter.
• Another Ajax defender knows this ground. Daley Blind, equally at home at centre-back, left-back or in midfield, had a spell at Groningen and still starts attacks with his left foot and his positional sense. Behind him stands Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who guarded Barcelona's goal for more than a decade, which gives the visitors unusually clean build-up from the back.
• Groningen answer with their academy. Thijmen Blokzijl, 190cm, holds the middle of the defence, and left-back Wouter Prins owns a genuine weapon in a long throw that reaches the penalty area. In midfield, Tygo Land, on loan from PSV, and Travis Hernes, borrowed from Newcastle United, are tasked with slowing Mika Godts and Oscar Gloukh.

The Tokyo derby, with Hirakawa and Yamada both facing former clubs

• The capital's derby is layered with transfer history. Verdy's Rei Hirakawa was labelled a prodigy in FC Tokyo's academy and played at the Under-17 World Cup; he now sets midfield rhythm with a mix of short and long passing. Going the other way, FC Tokyo's Fuki Yamada arrived via Kyoto Sanga and Verdy, and his left-footed free-kicks are among the best in the division.
• Verdy build around players they raised. Captain Koki Morita wears number 10 and keeps the ball calmly even under pressure, with academy products Joi Yamamoto and Shion Nakayama around him. Up front, Itsuki Someno, once the national high school tournament's top scorer with Shoshi High School and later a Kashima Antlers forward, links play and leads the press.
• FC Tokyo offer a sharp contrast of generations. Yuto Nagatomo, who played for Inter and Galatasaray, lines up with five-time J.League Best Eleven defender Masato Morishige and the 189cm Dane Alexander Scholz, himself a Best Eleven pick during his Urawa Reds years. Ahead of them, academy winger Kota Tawaratsumida and the 188cm Brazilian Marcelo Ryan carry the threat.

Noborizato meets the Kawasaki side he served for fifteen years

• Few reunions in Japan run deeper. Kyohei Noborizato gave Kawasaki Frontale fifteen years as a left-back, earning a J.League Best Eleven selection and collecting multiple league titles along the way. Now in Cerezo Osaka colours, he brings the same close control and the one-touch escapes that made him so hard to press.
• The midfield duel defines the texture of the match. Cerezo have Shinji Kagawa, a Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United veteran whose soft touch and quick first step still open tight spaces. Kawasaki reply with Ryota Oshima, often called the heir to Kengo Nakamura, and Yasuto Wakizaka, a Best Eleven pick in three consecutive seasons.
• There is a second homecoming on the Kawasaki right. Akihiro Ienaga, the 2018 J.League MVP, spent part of his career with Cerezo Osaka and still controls games with that loose-limbed rhythm and his changes of tempo. Cerezo answer through Shinnosuke Hatanaka, a title winner with Yokohama F. Marinos, and the 183cm holding midfielder Shunta Tanaka.

Six Japan internationals meet as City host Brighton

• No WSL fixture gathers more Japanese talent. Manchester City field Yui Hasegawa, captain of Japan, whose positioning and passing quality have carried her past a hundred appearances for the club. Aoba Fujino, a two-time WE League MVP, attacks from the left, and Ayaka Yamashita, named best goalkeeper at the 2026 Asian Cup, stands behind them.
• Brighton's pair were teammates long before England. Moe Minami won back-to-back Serie A titles with AS Roma and captained Japan at the Under-20 World Cup, and she reunited with Takako Seike, the first player ever to score a hat-trick on her WSL debut, after their years together at Urawa. Seike can play anywhere outside goal, which keeps City guessing.
• City's attacking depth is daunting. Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema, both formerly of Arsenal, line up with Jamaica's Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp on the left. Dario Vidosic's Brighton counter with Maelys Mpome and Lia Walti, title winners at Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, plus Fran Kirby, long nicknamed the mini Messi. Watch Risa Shimizu's overlaps from right-back too.