A Midweek of Reunions, and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's Trip to North London

Sakamoto's Coventry head to north London, where Maddison meets an old club

• For Japanese viewers this fixture means Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. He moved from Montedio Yamagata to Cerezo Osaka, spent time at Oostende in Belgium and now attacks from wide for Coventry, using his 170cm frame for short, quick dribbles in tight areas. Getting himself facing forward against Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro is the challenge of his night.
• Tottenham have their own thread to this story. James Maddison had a spell at Coventry long before he made his name at Norwich City and Leicester City, and he now takes the free-kicks and corners as England's most inventive playmaker in the squad. Opposite him stand Matt Grimes, for years the left-footed captain of Swansea City, and academy product Josh Eccles.
• Promoted Coventry mix hardened professionals with new arrivals. Taiwo Awoniyi, the Nigeria striker of Union Berlin and Nottingham Forest fame, lines up with Ethan Pinnock, a left-footed Jamaica international who climbed out of non-league football, and Caleb Yirenkyi, a Ghanaian midfielder signed from Nordsjaelland for what is reported as a club-record fee. Igor Tudor's hosts answer with Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Sandro Tonali and Dominic Solanke.

Madrid neighbours collide as Mojica faces his Vallecas past

• Two clubs from the Madrid region meet at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Jose Bordalas has built Getafe on duels and set pieces, led by captain Djene Dakonam, who lacks height but reads danger early and can cover centre-back, right-back or the holding role. Inigo Perez's Rayo Vallecano reply with the running and bite personified by their own captain, Oscar Valentin.
• Getafe's left flank carries the night's reunion. Colombia international Johan Mojica once played for Rayo, and after spells at Girona, Elche, Atalanta and Villarreal he remains an attacking left-back whose overlaps and crossing give the hosts width. Young forward Josel came through the youth systems of both Rayo and Valencia, and he hunts chances inside the box.
• Rayo field a striker familiar to J.League followers. Brazilian forward Alemao spent time with Kyoto Sanga and later drove Real Oviedo's promotion push, and he still offers powerful hold-up play and a sharp instinct in the area. Alvaro Garcia, only 167cm but the holder of the club's La Liga appearance record, works the left, while Getafe counter with the 190cm Nigeria international Christantus Uche and Borja Mayoral.

Levante's young midfield take on Valverde's Athletic Club

• This is a round six fixture squeezed into late October, and Levante meet it with youth. Carlos Alvarez, a left-footed attacking midfielder from Sevilla's academy, was once named both best player and leading scorer at La Liga Promises. Around him are Hugo Sotelo, a Celta product who made his top-flight debut against Barcelona at 17, and La Masia graduate Oriol Rey, whose left foot sets the tempo.
• The home goal belongs to a well-travelled Australian. Mat Ryan has played for Brighton, Real Sociedad and, in this very city, Valencia, and he still reads the moment to rush off his line. In front of him are Aissa Mandi, an Algeria international with five seasons at Real Betis behind him, and Jeremy Toljan, a veteran of Borussia Dortmund and Celtic.
• Ernesto Valverde's visitors include a man who came home. Aymeric Laporte, a Premier League and Champions League winner at Manchester City, was raised in this club and lifts the quality of their build-up with his left-footed passing. Against Nico Williams's dribbling and the 188cm presence of Gorka Guruzeta, Levante lean on the pace of Etta Eyong, the Cameroon forward who scored 19 goals for Villarreal's B team.

Kawasaki and Kobe bring their MVPs, and a midfield battle for time on the ball

• Few J1 fixtures gather this many league Most Valuable Players. Kawasaki Frontale can call on Akihiro Ienaga, honoured in 2018, and Yu Kobayashi, who took both the MVP award and the Golden Boot in 2017. Vissel Kobe answer with Yoshinori Muto, the 2024 winner and the first Japanese player to score in the Bundesliga, the Premier League and La Liga.
• Both midfields want the ball. Kawasaki line up Ryota Oshima, long described as the heir to Kengo Nakamura, alongside Yasuto Wakizaka, a Best Eleven pick in three straight seasons, and the tireless Kento Tachibanada. Kobe counter with the 185cm Takahiro Ogihara and his left-footed range, plus Yosuke Ideguchi, scorer of the goal that sent Japan to a World Cup.
• The contrast at either end is just as interesting. Yuya Osako remains one of the finest hold-up forwards in Japan, and it falls to Filip Uremovic, a well-travelled Croatian defender, and the left-footed Yuichi Maruyama to deal with him. Going the other way, Tatsuya Ito and Marcinho attack the space behind Gotoku Sakai, once the first Japanese captain in Bundesliga history, and Kobe skipper Tetsushi Yamakawa.

Taiki Hirato hosts the club that raised him as Kyoto test Tomoki Hayakawa

• This is a personal night for Kyoto Sanga's Taiki Hirato. He learned his craft in the Kashima Antlers academy and later recorded a league-high 17 assists while at FC Machida Zelvia, and his striking of a dead ball is as precise as his open-play delivery. How much quality service he can feed into his old club's defensive line may decide the evening.
• Kyoto attack with real conviction. Brazilian striker Rafael Elias hit ten goals in his first ten matches for the club, matching the quickest start J1 has seen, and he is now their all-time leading scorer in the league. On the right is Masaya Okugawa, an academy graduate back after nine and a half years away at Red Bull Salzburg and in the Bundesliga, facing Kashima's Tomoki Hayakawa, the 2025 J.League MVP and a Best Eleven selection.
• The visitors have firepower of their own. Yuma Suzuki fights for every ball while combining hold-up play with finishing, Leo Ceara arrives as the man whose goals drove the 2025 title win, and Elber and Yan Matheus bring their Yokohama F. Marinos experience. Kyoto meet them with the 192cm Hisashi Appiah Tawiah and Yoshinori Suzuki at the back, and with Joao Pedro and Mitsuki Saito contesting every loose ball.

Shimizu meet Machida with Oh Se-hun and Ryohei Shirasaki facing former clubs

• Reunions sit on both benches. Shimizu S-Pulse striker Oh Se-hun, 194cm and a genuine aerial handful with his back to goal, spent time at FC Machida Zelvia. Travelling the other way is Ryohei Shirasaki, a technician who played for Shimizu and has 176 J1 appearances and 21 goals to his name, and who still sets the rhythm of Machida's attack.
• Machida will attack the air and the set piece. Henry Heroki Mochizuki, 192cm, is a right-back with a long throw that travels close to fifty metres, and he has the 197cm Australian Tete Yengi and the 186cm Koki Ogawa, a former Eredivisie forward, waiting in the middle. Shimizu answer with Jelani Sumiyoshi and Sodai Hasukawa heading clear, and with former Kashima goalkeeper Yuya Oki behind them.
• The hosts carry a threat of their own. Ryo Germain is a powerful striker with a fierce left foot and a knack for running in behind, and in 2024 he scored 19 goals in 32 matches for Jubilo Iwata. He is joined by academy product Koya Kitagawa, who also played in Austria, and the left-footed Brazilian Capixaba, signed from Cerezo Osaka, while Machida rely on 2018 World Cup centre-back Gen Shoji and the left-footed Yuta Nakayama.