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Nagoya Grampus will battle with FC Tokyo in the first leg of their semifinal tie in the J League Cup on Wednesday.
The hosts come into the game on the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Sunday. Yuya Asano scored the match-winner in the 35th minute.
FC Tokyo suffered an away defeat to Kawasaki Frontale by the same scoreline in the league. Leandro Damiao scored on the stroke of halftime to give the hosts all three points.
A place in the final of the competition awaits the winner of this tie. Nagoya Grampus secured their spot in the last four with a convincing 4-0 aggregate victory over Kashima Antlers in the quarterfinal. FC Tokyo's 2-0 second leg victory helped them overcome a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Consadole Sapporo.
Nagoya Grampus vs FC Tokyo Head-to-Head
The two sides have clashed on 34 occasions in the past, with FC Tokyo emerging victorious in 18 matches.
Nagoya Grampus have eight wins to their name while eight previous matches ended in a share of the spoils.
One of those draws came in their most recent meeting, a 1-1 stalemate that saw Adailton and Jakub Swierczok get on the scoresheet two weeks ago.
Nagoya Grampus form guide (all competitions): L-W-D-W-W
FC Tokyo form guide (all competitions): L-L-D-W-L
Nagoya Grampus vs FC Tokyo Team News
Nagoya Grampus
Yuichi Maruyama is the only injury concern for the hosts with a cruciate ligament injury.
Injury: Yuichi Maruyama
Suspension: None
FC Tokyo
Akihiro Hayashi (cruciate ligament), Kazuya Konno (cruciate ligament), Hotaka Nakamura (meniscus) and Takuya Uchida are all still sidelined by long-term injuries. Right-back Ryoya Ogawa is a recent addition to the treatment table with a hamstring injury.
Injuries: Akihiro Hayashi, Kazuya Konno, Hotaka Nakamura, Takuya Uchida, Ryoya Ogawa
Suspension: None
Nagoya Grampus vs FC Tokyo Predicted XI
Nagoya Grampus Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Mitchell Langerak (GK); Yutaka Yoshida, Min-Tae Kim, Shinnosuke Nakatani, Kazuya Miyahara; Kazuki Nagasawa, Sho Inagaki; Ryoya Morishita, Naoki Maeda, Mateus dos Santos; Jakub Swierczok
FC Tokyo Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Go Hatano (GK); Yuto Nagatomo, Joan Oumari, Masato Morishige, Takumi Nakamura; Shuto Abe, Takuya Aoki; Adailton, Yojiro Tagahagi, Kyosuke Tagawa; Diego Diego
Nagoya Grampus vs FC Tokyo Prediction
Nagoya's defeat on Sunday halted a 12-game unbeaten run and Massimo Ficcadenti's side will be eager to get back to winning ways. The game against a struggling FC Tokyo represents a perfect opportunity to do so and home advantage could also count in their favor.
We are backing Nagoya Grampus to secure a comfortable victory.
Prediction: Nagoya Grampus 3-1 FC Tokyo
