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 250
Koike - 100 points
Ohata - 98.3 points
Sugeno - 83.1 points
Iniesta - 80.7 points
Iwata- 79.7 points
GW 250 Fixtures
Kobe vs Kashima
Vissel Kobe Predicted Lineup
Odds
Win - 35.7%
Most likely to play - Sakai, Iikura
Combos - Yamaguchi + Iniesta
Main set Piece taker - Iniesta 2) Hatsuse
Pens - Iniesta
COVID Cases -
Injury - Muto ( 8-10 weeks) & Osako
Notes
There is only one game this GW and it is not happening until Friday night. This means we dont have the normal training photos or press conferences to give us many hints.
For Vissel its even more complex as 1) They are in awful form and 2) They are playing in the ACL playoff vs Melbourne next Tuesday. My strong feeling is that they are prioritising the ACL this year so it makes it even trickier to work out with confidence a lot of the lineup!
Lets look at what we know. Both Muto and Osako are out injured (see below on Osako - he could return for Friday but hard to tell)
In nets, to the cries of many holders, Maekawa was dropped for Iikura. I dont personally think Maekawa made any clangers but with the teams form the way its is, im not surprised by the change either. I think that Iikura will remain now but this position may well cause more frustration this season.
In defence Kikuchi finally returned. He looked a bit rusty & not fully match fit so he could get rotated in this game depending on his condition. Makino was on the bench so could come in for this game. Sakai was relatively poor, however he is one of the few players in the J1 league who starts all games (touch wood!). Hatsuse also returned and he could get another shot to allow Sakai to play right back.
Midfield is also a DNP minefield. Iniesta has been in and out of the team but is the type of player who can get a decisive even from the bench. He linked up well with Yamaguchi for Vissels goal & I can see him continuing for this game. Sasaki is the most vulnerable to being rotated after not performing that great the last game.
Upfront and with the injuries to their main strikers this game could see an opportunity for Fujimoto to make a rare start.
Despite the draw,I feel Vissel played well for long period against Hiroshima, however still lacked that spark from last year
For Sorare - I am using my players (Kikuchi,Yamaguchi, Iniesta) in my least important division this GW.I want to use them together as they are all have huge score potential but at the same time, due to the number of risks/unknowns have not put them in my main divisions.
Kashima Antlers Predicted Lineup
Odds
Win - 40%
Most likely to play - Min -Tae, Kwon, Suzuki
Combos - Araki & Ueda/Suzuki
Main set Piece taker - Araki/Higuchi
Pens - Suzuki
COVID Cases - None reported
Notes
Antlers secured a hard fought 1-0 victory at home versus Kashiwa. Araki came off the bench to score the winner from a deflected shot.
Antlers dont have the ACL to worry about this season so I can see there being less rotation risk and would expect Tsunemoto to return to RB after starting on the bench on Sunday. Antlers would also see this as big game for them against a top 4 rival who are in poor form. Some were surprised to see Araki benched last GW and although I rate him, I do think the team can be lacking defensively/structure when he, Suzuki and Ueda all start.
For Sorare - even though Ueda and Araki can start on the bench more often than I would like, they are both the type of players that can get deceives in the second half when running at a tiring defence.
Match Prediction
I can see this being a cagey game with chances at a premium. Overall, I feel that the two teams will somewhat cancel each other out. I see, Kashima as the slight favourites but can see this game ending in a tie.
Kobe 1-1 Kashima
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
I am currently updating the site with known injury info. It will be likely published tomorrow :)
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!
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