Intro
I will be doing predicted lineups for the Japanese J1 League for each GW. These lineups will be made from information I gather from:
Press conferences/interviews with the manager
Training information
Suspension lists
Lineups from last year if same manager
I will be updating the blog as and when I get information and giving a % for my confidence the player will start.
I know from general experience with monitoring lineups across all leagues on sorare, information can drop right up to the deadline (eg a positive corona case of a player a few hours before the deadline). So I will be in general updating the lineup prediction the day after the GW opens and then updating it again the day of the deadline.
I will also be providing betting odds where available, such as:
% chance of win
I am not expecting to be anywhere near perfect with these lineups and hope to improve as time goes on. The main aim is to illustrate where I see risk and what kind of opportunities there are each GW.
Best Scoring Players in GW 248
Koga - 97.4 points
Savio - 91.5 points
Yuito Suzuki - 83.5 points
Tachibanada - 82.6 points
Kamiya- 81.4 points
Current Standings
Its been an eventful and surprising start to the J1 League. This year, all the teams competing in the ACL/AFC are playing each in the opening weeks. This to a degree has led to fixture congestion for these teams and for Urawa, not the start many were expecting!
This is to take nothing away from Kashiwa Reysol and Kyoto in particular who have been magnificent however I still see these teams in the bottom half of the league at the end of the season
GW 249 Fixtures
Yokohama FM vs Vissel Kobe
Yokahama F Marinos Predicted Lineup
Odds
Win - 55%
Most likely to play - Takaoka, Koike, Kida, Elber
Combos - Takaoka & Eduardo
Main set Piece taker - Nagato/ Eduardo
Pens - M. Junior/ Lopes
COVID Cases - None reported
Injuries - Watanabe (on different training schedule,doubt for this game)
Suspensions - Hatanaka and Iwata
Notes
YFM followed up the big win vs last years champions with a surprise 3-1 defeat to Kashiwa. To add to their misery, they had two sending's off and M.Junior went off with a suspected hamstring injury.
There has been no update yet on the extent of the injury so I dont expect him to play. I see Joel Fujita and Saneto slotting in for the suspended duo. This will be YFMs 4th game in 10 days so I can understand Muscatt rotating his players. Nakagawa will almost certainly returning and I see Yoshio coming in too as not seen an update on Nishimura.
Up front, Lopes did score in the last game and as always its a bit of flip between him and Cera. I expect Nagato to remain as left back as only made his debut in the last game
Vissel Kobe Predicted Lineup
Odds
Win - 24%
Most likely to play - Makino, Sakai, Yamaguchi, Muto, Maekawa
Combos - Yamaguchi + Sakai
Main set Piece taker - Iniesta 2) Hatsuse
Pens - Iniesta
COVID Cases - 1 case reported
Notes
Vissel had a frustrating 0-0 draw verus a robust Fukuoka team on the weekend. Althiough Iniesta returned, he and the team were unable to unlock the Fukuoka defence.
The manager may choose to freshen up the attack with Lincoln playing instead of Osako or Muto. In midfield, I see Iniesta and Yamaguchi remaining with Yuruki/Goke/Sasaki fighting it out for a sport
The team are being very careful with not introducing Kikuchi too quickly. This could well be a good time to give him some minutes though might be from the bench rather from the start. At the movement in time, I am not using his card on Sorare.
Match Prediction
As an attacking unit, YFM have impressed me. Being back home will suit them as their were some complaints about the Kashiwa, (though this does sound like sour grapes to me!) Eduardo hasnt looked quite right but me and was caught a couple of times in the previous game. Vissel may target and have success on the counter and through balls to Muto in particular.
I see this as being an entertaining game with plenty of action with YFM sneaking a narrow wnin.
Yokohama FM 2-1 Vissel Kobe
Kawasaki Frontale vs Urawa Reds
Frontale Predicted Lineup
Odds
Win - 53%
Most likely to play - Taniguchi, Yamane, Sung Ryong, Tachibanda
Combos - Damiao, Yamane/
Main set Piece taker - Wakizaka/Ienaga
Pens - Damiao/Ienaga
COVID Cases - None reported but Seko not seen in training pics. Schmidt situation also unclear. Marcinho not in squad for the last game so his situation also no known.
Injuries - Jesiel (ACL, expected back May but TBC),Sasaki was taken off with injury, uncertain for this game.
Notes
Frontale bounced back with vengeance on Saturday, notching up a highly impressive 2-0 away win to the well fansied Kashima team. The manager made some bold changes brining in Chinen and Sasaki. It certainly worked as both scored in a dominant first half display.
Noborizato had a very poor game again YFM and I feel he was dropped rather than rested for this game. Sasaki took his opportunity though I notice he went off with an injury which I havent been able to get further info on. Damiao was likely rested/given a wake up call not to assume hes always starting. I have him as starting here but also would like to see Chinen rewarded for scoring his last two. There may well be a slight change of formation to accommodate for this as he normally doesnt play on the wing. Tachibanda will certainly start if hes fit (looked fine to me). Wakizaka had a much improved game and I see him starting again as he also offers danger at set pieces. Oshima who was missing from the squad and seen an update.
Ienaga has played alot of minutes and could be rested. My gut is he starts as in previous seasons he does play in the "big" games. My confidence of him starting has reduced though and I will likely not use him on Sorare
Urawa Reds Predicted Lineup
Odds
Win - 23%
Most likely to play - Nishikawa, Ito, Esaka, Shibato
Combos - Nishikawa and Iwananmi/Inukai
Main set Piece taker - Esaka
Pens - Esaka
COVID Cases - 3+ reported
Suspensions - Iwao
Notes
Urawa have had a dreadful start to the season picking up only 1 point in 3 games. They played well in the first half vs Gamba but the sending off of Iwao changed the game with Gamba picking up the 1-0 win.
To make matters worse for them, Iwao was highly impressive for Urawa when they beat Frontale 2-0 in the super cup. His absence and Tachibanada being back will leave to a very different game and sadly different outcome I feel for Urawa.
More positive news is Akimoto returning and he will most likely start. Sakai was a surprise omission from the squad on the weekend so I wouldnt risk him if possible here
Match Prediction
I was guilty of writing off Urawa in the Super Cup and if Iwao was playing,I could see this being a much different game.
Rodriguez is very tactical may well have something up his sleeve here. The lack of striker (Junker is training but not ready to start is what I have read) have and will make things difficult for Urawa. I see a comfortable win for Frontale.
Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 Urawa Reds
Finish
I hope you found this useful!
Remember this is just a guide based on the info I have. I have tried to keep it neutral but of course there will be bias at play. As I have said previously, I want this to be helpful to you in managing risk rather than picking the right player where its a 50/50 flip.
If you spot anything glaringly wrong (eg an injury or suspended player), do let me know! I will be updating this all the way up to the deadline as we can get info very last minute
Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions of other players :)
I am always more than happy to talk things J1 League & Sorare on twitter or Discord
Click below for the J League Sorare Discord channel:
I plan to keep this site and discord free as I enjoy seeing folk get passionate about the J league and all its delights! This does take me alot of time to produce and manage. I am considering whether to move parts to a paid section.
To keep me motivated and support me, you can donate anything you wish (click below) or send me something to my sorare account. Any kind words on Discord or twitter also does keep me wanting to produce more content too!
