- Sanfrecce Hiroshima have won their last two home games and are on a run of three wins, one draw and just one defeat from five.
- Nagoya Grampus Eight have won one of their 11 away games in J League 2025, losing seven times, including the last one.
Two contrasting styles will meet at Edion Stadium
Sanfrecce Hiroshima are third in the J League 2025 table on 36 points from 20 games and are firmly in the title race while visitors Nagoya Grampus Eight, who beat the home team 2-1 less than two months ago, are 14th on 24 points from 21.
Hiroshima are a possession based team that rotates the ball well and uses the width of the field to open up the opposition. Michael Skibbe has done a great job since taking over in February 2022 and turned them into one of the most consistent and well-organised sides in the J League 2025.
They have a rock-solid defense, led by captain Hayato Araki, who is the organiser and enforcer at the heart of the back four that has conceded just eight goals in ten home games in the J League 2025 (0.80 per game).
Kosuke Kinoshita leads the line for them and has five J League 2025 goals in 16 appearances while creative midfielder Tsukasa Morishima is the engine room, providing the passing and movement to keep the ball and dictate the play.
Nagoya have been Hiroshima’s bogey team lately
Nagoya are a compact, defensive unit that like to sit deep and hit teams with fast breaks when they press forward. Kenta Hasegawa has done a good job since he took over in 2022 and his side have a reputation for being solid in defense and quick on the counter-attack.
Ryoya Morishita is a defender and has the pace to recover in transition, while the most reliable goalscorer is Sho Inagaki with seven in 21 league appearances. Yuya Yamagishi has been in good form of late with three goals in the last five games and is another good outlet for them.
The problem for Nagoya is that they haven’t scored enough goals, particularly on the road where they have only 10 goals in 11 away games. They are Hiroshima’s bogey team, having taken the victory on three of their last four visits.
But Sanfrecce are a tough team to beat at home, where they have six wins, one draw and three defeats this season, and have won their two most recent games there. I don’t see them losing on Saturday, but the 2.05 about them is a bit short and the visitors are worth a play at 3.98.
