Urawa Red Diamonds
- Urawa Red Diamonds are fourth in the J1 100 Year Vision League with 24 points from 16 games after an early-season slump.
- Urawa remain 11 points behind arch rivals FC Tokyo, who sit in second with 35 points from the same number of matches.
- Interim boss Tatsuya Tanaka was promoted after Maciej Skorża’s sacking on April 28th.
- Tanaka has wasted no time in creating an immediate turnaround in results, following four consecutive wins since a 2-3 home defeat to Yokohama F·Marinos.
- Urawa demolished Mito Hollyhock 4-1 in their most recent away game.
FC Tokyo
- FC Tokyo are equally in form with four wins and one defeat in their last five games, although their defeat came 3-0 at home to JEF United Chiba.
- The visitors thrashed Mito Hollyhock 5-2 in the game before and won 3-1 away at Kashiwa Reysol before that.
- The bookies list Tokyo at 2.48, Urawa at 2.81 and the draw at 3.2.
Key Players
- Urawa play a high-tempo, high-pressing style of soccer with Ryōma Watanabe and Matheus Sávio providing the dynamic, fast-paced outlets for Ado Onaiwu and Isaac Kiese Thelin to do the holding up and finishing.
- In Marcelo Ryan, Tokyo possess the most lethal forward in the league, while Kein Sato and Keita Endo provide a similar creative spark and goal threat from midfield and attack.
Head-to-Head
- These clubs have met 31 times, with Urawa winning 11, Tokyo 9 and 11 draws.
- The fixture averages 3.0 goals per game, with both teams often finding the net.
Betting Insights
- The bookies make Tokyo favourites at 2.48, with Urawa at 2.81 and the draw at 3.2.
- The suggested market in the preview is 'Both teams to score - Yes' at 1.79.
Prediction
- This fixture is never dull, but it could be a little one-sided in Tokyo’s favour if the bookies are to be believed.
- Urawa will be riding an emotional wave of renewed belief under their new boss.
- The Saitama Stadium crowd will be up for it, and this is a big local rivalry.
