Wednesday, at 13:45, the Malaysians from Johor receive Kashiwa Reysol’s visit in the fifth round of the Asian Champions League groups. The difference in value between the two teams is incontrovertible, and the Japanese should set themselves up smoothly in this move.
Kashiwa struggles for qualification in the next phase in a balanced group. Johor is the weakest team in E, where Shandong Luneng is China’s leader (8 points). Kashiwa is ranked second with 7 points, and Gyeongnam is ranked No. 3 with 5 points. So any wrong move in front of the Malaysians could cost the red-white qualifying in the next phase! In this group, Kashiwa has two victories, a draw and a failure, while Johor drew only once and lost three of the four games so far.
Johor comes after some positive results in the domestic competition, as were Felda United (2-0) or PKNS (3-1) victories. In addition, Johor drew to Pahang, score 1-1, forgetting the failure of the Champions League suffered on his own, with Shandong Luneng (0-1). Star Graziano Pelle scored the decisive goal in Johor, where the hosts failed to pull a shot on the goal, although they had a superior possession. Only three corners were awarded in this match, which serves as a good example for the Kashiwa Reysol duel.
Kashiwa comes after a victory in the championship with Shimizu S-Pulse, a 3-0 home score, where Doi, Abe and Anzai scored the decisive goals. This on his own home, Reysol also passed Vegalta Sendai, score 1-0, showing that “deer” have a very hard team to fool in the defensive.
Also benefiting from the talents of quality Brazilian footballers, Nelsinho Baptista’s team should set themselves up without a problem with an offensive opponent. In the Champions League, Kashiwa scored without problems with Gyeongnam (3-1) and Shandong Luneng (2-2), but was unable to cope with the attack. This time, Johor will put much less trouble in the hands of the Japanese, who do not conceive another outcome outside of victory.
PREDICTION: Kashima to win @ 1,58
