Shimizu S-Pulse vs Urawa Reds prediction, preview, team news and more | J1 League 2022

Shimizu S-Pulse will invite Urawa Reds to the IAI Stadium Nihondaira in J1 League action on Friday.

The home team are second from the bottom in the league standings with 20 points to their name. They did return to winning ways in their previous outing, which helped them climb up to 17th place at the expense of Jubilo Iwata. They defeated Nagoya Grampus 2-0 in their away game last time around.

Urawa Reds have had just one defeat in league fixtures since March but have also picked up just three wins in that period, so they find themselves in ninth place in the standings, with just six points separating them from the home team in the league table.

After this match, the Urawa Reds will face Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a friendly fixture next Saturday. They also returned to winning ways in the league in their previous outing, defeating FC Tokyo in their home fixture on Sunday.

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Shimizu S-Pulse vs Urawa Reds Head-to-Head

The two sides have squared off 74 times across all competitions, and the head-to-head record is perfectly even heading into this game. Both sides have 32 wins to their name while 10 games have ended in draws.

Urawa Reds enjoy an impeccable record in their travels to Shimizu in recent years, as they are undefeated at Saturday's venue since 2012. They have scored at least two goals in each of the nine games in that period, picking up eight wins while one game has ended in a draw.

They last met in league action in April at the Saitama Stadium, where the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture and will be looking to secure a win in their second meeting of the year.

Shimizu S-Pulse form guide (all competitions): W-L-L-D-L

Urawa Reds form guide (all competitions): W-D-D-W-L

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Shimizu S-Pulse vs Urawa Reds Team News

Shimizu S-Pulse

Togo Umeda, Renato Augusto, and Katsuhiro Nakayama remain sidelined with injuries for the home team. Benjamin Kololli was taken off the pitch in the previous outing due to an undisclosed reason and his involvement here remains doubtful.

Eiichi Katayama was suspended after picking up his fourth yellow card of the campaign last time around.

Injury: Togo Umeda, Renato Augusto, Katsuhiro Nakayama

Doubtful: None.

Suspension: None

Unavailable: Eiichi Katayama.

Urawa Reds

Kasper Junker and Tomoya Inukai remain sidelined with injuries for the Reds and there are no fresh absentees for them in this match.

Injury: Kasper Junker, Tomoya Inukai.

Doubtful: None.

Suspension: None

Unavailable: None.

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Shimizu S-Pulse vs Urawa Reds Predicted XIs

Shimizu S-Pulse (4-4-2): Shuichi Gonda (GK); Yoshinori Suzuki, Reon Yamahara, Kenta Nishizawa, Ronaldo; Takeru Kishimoto, Ryohei Shirasaki, Teruki Hara, Kota Miyamoto; Carlinhos Junior, Thiago Santana

Urawa Reds (4-2-3-1): Shushaku Nishikawa (GK); Ayumu Ohata, Alexander Scholz, Takuya Iwanami, Hiroki Sakai; Atsuki Ito, Ken Iwao; Yoshio Koizumi, David Moberg Karlsson, Tomoaki Okubo; Ataru Esaka.

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Shimizu S-Pulse vs Urawa Reds Prediction

While both sides have scored exactly the same number of goals this season, 25 apiece, it is their defensive abilities that differentiate them. Urawa Reds have the second-best defensive record in their league, conceding just 19 goals while Shimizu have the second-worst defensive record, conceding 33 goals.

Given Urawa's impressive record in their recent away games in this fixture, they should be able to secure a win here.

Prediction: Shimizu S-Pulse 1-2 Urawa Reds