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The Urawa Reds welcome Cerezo Osaka to Saitama Stadium in an Emperor's Cup semi-final fixture on Sunday.
The winner of the game will face either J1 League champions Kawasaki Frontale or Oita Trinita next Sunday.
Urawa Reds secured a sixth-placed finish in the 2021 J1 League campaign, playing out a goalless draw at Nagoya Grampus in their final fixture of the season. Cerezo Osaka suffered a 2-1 loss against Shimizu S-Pulse to finish 12th in the standings.
This will be the second time the two sides will meet in the semi-finals of a cup fixture this season. They met in the J League Cup in October, with Osaka recording a 2-1 win in the two-legged fixture.
Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Head-to-Head
There have been 110 meetings between the two sides across all competitions. Urawa Reds have been the better side here and lead 44-38 in wins. The spoils have been shared 28 times between the two sides.
They have met four times this year and in these meetings, Cerezo Osaka hold the advantage, recording two 1-0 wins at home. Urawa Reds have just one win to their name and one game has ended in a draw.
They last met at Kincho Stadium in a second-leg J League Cup tie in October, with Mutsuki Kato's second-half strike ensuring a 1-0 win for the then hosts.
Urawa Reds form guide (J1 League): L-W-L-L-W
Cerezo Osaka form guide (J1 League): D-L-W-L-D
Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Team News
Urawa Reds
Thomas Deng is the only injury concern for the hosts in this game.
Injury: Thomas Deng
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Cerezo Osaka
Takashi Inui remains a long-term absentee on account of a knee injury. Here are the rest of the absentees for the visiting side:
- Van Lam Dang - Acromioclavicular Separation
- Adam Taggart - Meniscal Injury
- Yuta Koike - Undisclosed
Injured: Van Lam Dang, Yuta Koike, Takashi Inui, Adam Taggart
Suspended: None
Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI
Urawa Reds Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Shushaku Nishikawa; Ryosuke Yamanaka, Alexander Scholz, Takuya Iwanami, Hiroki Sakai; Daiki Kaneko, Koya Yuruki; Yoshio Koizumi, Takahiro Sekine, Kasper Junker; Ataru Esaka
Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI (4-4-2): Jin-hyeon Kim; Ryosuke Shindo, Riku Matsuda, Ayumu Seko, Yusuke Maruhashi; Hiroshi Kiyotake, Hiroaki Okuno, Toshiyuki Takagi, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto; Mutsuki Kato, Yoshito Ōkubo
Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Prediction
Cerezo Osaka scored 47 goals in the J1 League this term, two more than the hosts, but have conceded 51 goals as well. Urawa are unbeaten at home since June and should be able to record a narrow win here.
Prediction: Urawa Reds 2-1 Cerezo Osaka
