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The Urawa Reds will entertain Vissel Kobe at the Saitama Stadium in the second-round fixtures of the J1 League on Tuesday.
The hosts kicked off their league campaign with a 1-0 away loss at newly-promoted Kyoto Sanga last week. They kickstarted the 2022 campaign with a 2-0 win in the Japanese Super Cup final over Kawasaki Frontale and will be hoping to find form in their first home game of the season.
Vissel Kobe had a torrid opening to their season as they fell to a 2-0 loss at Nagoya Grampus. Gōtoku Sakai scored an own goal while Takahiro Ogihara was sent off in the second half. They are at the bottom of the league standings at the moment.
Urawa Reds vs Vissel Kobe Head-to-Head
There have been 57 meetings between the two sides across all competitions since 1997. The hosts lead 33-17 in wins, while seven games have ended in a draw.
They last met in league action at the Noevir Stadium Kobe in October. The game ended in a comprehensive 5-1 win for the then hosts.
Urawa Reds form guide (all competitions): L-W
Vissel Kobe form guide (J1 League): L
Urawa Reds vs Vissel Kobe Team News
Urawa Reds
A senior team player tested positive for COVID-19 last week and is currently quarantined. There are no reported injuries for the home side at the moment.
Injury: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Vissel Kobe
Ushi will not be able to call upon the services of Takahiro Ogihara as the midfielder was sent off in the game against Nagoya Grampus. Andres Iniesta has trained with the squad ahead of the game and should be in contention to start here after missing the opening fixture of the season.
Injury: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: Takahiro Ogihara
Urawa Reds vs Vissel Kobe Predicted XI
Urawa Reds Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Shushaku Nishikawa (GK); Ryosuke Yamanaka, Alexander Scholz, Takuya Iwanami, Hiroki Sakai; Atsuki Ito, Kai Shibato; Yoshio Koizumi, Takahiro Sekine, Kaito Yasui; Ataru Esaka
Vissel Kobe Predicted XI (4-4-2): Daiya Maekawa (GK); Ryo Hatsuse, Leo Osaki, Yuki Kobayashi, Gotoku Sakai; Sergi Samper, Andres Iniesta, Daiju Sasaki, Yuya Osako; Yoshinori Muto, Bojan Krkic
Urawa Reds vs Vissel Kobe Prediction
Both sides have had a slow start to their league campaign and will be vying for a positive result in this game. Vissel Kobe recorded just one shot on target in their previous outing while the hosts were unlucky not to have scored from their six shots on target.
As the two sides get their seasons underway with newer squads, the game here is expected to end in a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Urawa Reds 1-1 Vissel Kobe.
