Raphael Durand
Dailysports's expert
One of the clashes of the 22nd round of the Japanese championship will take place on Wednesday at the Saitama Stadium, where the local side Urawa hosts Cerezo Osaka. Here’s a bet suggestion on the outcome of this encounter with promising odds for success.
Match preview
The Saitama side is going through a mixed spell in the league: over the last five rounds, the Reds have managed just one win, which has impacted their position in the standings. Away against Nagoya Grampus, they looked confident up until the 51st minute when Ryoma Watanabe found the net, but the ending was disastrous—two goals conceded and more points dropped.
However, Urawa’s home form remains a key strength—seven wins in their last eight matches at home. After 19 rounds, the team sits fifth in the standings with 30 points. They trail Hiroshima, currently third, by only two points.
"Sakura" have delivered an impressive May, winning five out of six matches, including a confident 2-0 victory over Fukuoka in the last round. The team showed balanced play, solid in defense and clinical in attack—Shibayama and Rafael Ratão particularly stood out by scoring late in the match.
After 18 rounds, Cerezo sit eighth in the table with 25 points. Notably, Cerezo boast one of the best attacking records in the league—26 goals this season. All things considered, it's clear why Cerezo arrive in Saitama with ambitions for another three points. Still, the away factor and Urawa’s home strength call for caution.
Probable lineups
- Urawa Reds: Nishikawa S. – Naganuma Y., Inoue R., Høibråten M., Ogiwara T. – Matsumoto T., Gustafsson Sam., Okubo T. – Matheus Savio, Haraguchi G., Matsuo Y.
- Cerezo Osaka: Fukui K., Shindo R., Hatanaka S., Nishio R., Okuda H., Kida H., Kagawa S., Takahashi N., Kitano S., Fernandez L., Rafael Ratão.
Match facts and head-to-head
- The Reds have struggled against Cerezo: three losses in their last four home meetings and not a single goal scored in those games
- The "Both teams to score" bet has landed in three of the last five matches
- The "Total over 2.5" bet has come through in two of the last five meetings
Prediction
Cerezo’s form commands respect, and they’re certainly capable of finding the net at least once. But Urawa are among the league’s best home sides, so the optimal bet here is "Both teams to score" at odds of 1.75.
