Nagoya Grampus Eight
- Nagoya Grampus Eight finished 16th and Shimizu S-Pulse 14th in the J1 League in 2025.
- Nagoya’s Mihailo Petrović and Shimizu’s Takayuki Yoshida take charge of their teams for the first time competitively.
- Nagoya finished 16th in the J.League’s top flight in 2025 and have had a difficult build-up to their season opener, going D L L L W in their last five competitive matches.
Shimizu S-Pulse
- Shimizu have lost four of their last five matches, only beating Tokyo Verdy and losing 1-4 to Cerezo Osaka in that sequence.
- Koya Kitagawa was their top scorer in 2025 and will be the main man to mark in Yoshida’s 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 system.
- Shimizu’s 2025 campaign was disappointing and the new coach’s brief will be to shake up the team for a fresh start this year, but with an organised, attacking, structure.
- Shimizu’s Yuji Takahashi has been ruled out of this match due to injury.
Head-to-Head
- The two sides have met each other in all competitions with the home side holding a slender advantage - Nagoya 37, Shimizu 34.
- These two teams played out a 1-1 draw at home in June 2025, a month after Nagoya had beaten Shimizu 3-0 away.
Key Players
- Sho Inagaki scored double-digit goals in 2025, but he is best known for his midfield prowess and ability to change a match with his creative runs from the second half.
- Koya Kitagawa was their top scorer in 2025 and will be the main man to mark in Yoshida’s 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 system.
- Yuya Osako is one of the best hold-up strikers in the J.League and will be the central figure in Shizu’s attack, while Matheus Bueno is a top-notch orchestrator from midfield.
Betting Insights
- Nagoya are the 2.0 favorites for this encounter with Shimizu 3.7 and the draw 3.3, but it is likely to be a tight match in the opening fixture of this J.League split and we are taking Nagoya to just edge it.
- The Under 2.5 goals selection at 1.7 looks a good option for this game, given the lack of goals in the last two meetings and the way the two teams have been playing.
Prediction
2-1 home win is the correct score pick for Sunday’s clash, but a 1-1 draw could be more likely if Shimizu can match the hosts.
