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Kawasaki Frontale square off against the Urawa Reds in the 2022 Japanese Super Cup final at the Nissan Stadium on Saturday. Kawasaki are the defending champions while this is the fifth finals appearance for the Urawa Reds, who are yet to win a title in the competition.
Kawasaki Frontale won their fourth league title in five years to earn a place in the fixture. The Urawa Reds set up a date with their southern rivals thanks to their triumph over Oita Trinta in the Emperor's cup in December.
This will be the second final between the two sides in the competition, with their previous encounter in 2019 ending in a 1-0 win for Azzurro Nero.
Kawasaki Frontale vs Urawa Reds Head-to-Head
The two sides from the Greater Tokyo Area have met each other 51 times across all competitions. The fixture has been closely contested between the two sides, with the Reds enjoying a 21-20 lead in wins while 11 games have ended in a draw.
They last squared off in J1 League action at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium in November. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Kawasaki Frontale form guide (all competitions): L-D-W-W-L
Urawa Reds form guide (all competitions): W-W-D-L-W
Kawasaki Frontale vs Urawa Reds Team News
Kawasaki Frontale
Brazilian defender Jesiel is the only injury concern for the league champions for this game. Toru Oniki will have a solid squad at his disposal to choose from here.
Injury: Jesiel
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Urawa Reds
Ricardo Rodríguez will have a full squad to choose from in this game as there are no reported injuries or suspension concerns in the team at the moment. Ayumu Ohata is a doubt though for the game.
Injury: None
Doubtful: Ayumu Ohata
Suspension: None
Kawasaki Frontale vs Urawa Reds Predicted XI
Kawasaki Frontale Predicted XI (4-3-3): Sung-Ryong Jung (GK); Kyohei Noborizato, Shintaro Kurumaya, Shogo Taniguchi, Miki Yamane; Kento Tachibanada, Ryota Oshima, Yasuto Wakizaka; Marcinho, Leandro Damiao, Akihiro Ienaga
Urawa Reds Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Shushaku Nishikawa (GK); Ryosuke Yamanaka, Alexander Scholz, Takuya Iwanami, Hiroki Sakai; Daiki Kaneko, Koya Yuruki; Yoshio Koizumi, Takahiro Sekine, Kasper Junker; Ataru Esaka
Kawasaki Frontale vs Urawa Reds Prediction
The last three meetings between the two sides have ended in a stalemate but Kawasaki Frontale have the advantage in terms of squad quality at the moment.
Urawa Reds have never won the competition despite five appearances in the final, so it seems the pressure of the final gets the better of them. The game is expected to end in a narrow win for Kawasaki Frontale.
Prediction: Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 Urawa Reds.
