League Cup quarter-finals loom large
All eyes on Sunday will be on Kashima Stadium, where Kashima Antlers host bitter rivals Urawa Reds. All tickets for this clash have been snapped up with around 40,000 fans expected to descend on Kashima Stadium, as Urawa aim for revenge having given up the J-League crown on the final day of last season to their hated rivals.
Kashima currently top the J. League standings on 34 points, while three clubs in the form of Urawa, Gamba Osaka and Nagoya Grampus are a further two points back. At the bottom of the standings JEF United prop up the table some six points adrift of second-from-bottom Consadole Sapporo, while Yokohama F. Satta Matka currently occupy the promotion/relegation playoff place, albeit with just under half the season remaining.
The second leg of Nabisco League Cup quarter-finals takes place on August 6, with all of the ties still in the balance.
Oita Trinita arguably hold the most commanding lead from the first leg, having scored two away goals in their 2-1 win over FC Tokyo at Ajinomoto Stadium.
Nagoya Grampus will also feel confident of booking their place in the final four having beaten JEF United 1-0 away from home, while Gamba Osaka beat Yokohama F. Marinos 1-0 at Kanazawa Stadium.
The pick of the fixtures will see Shimizu S-Pulse host Kashima Antlers at what should be a packed Nihondaira Stadium, with the tie delicately poised at 0-0 from the first leg. Shimizu have been Kashima’s bogey side in recent years, and having beaten Kashima 1-0 in the league at Nihondaira earlier this season, Kenta Hasegawa’s side will feel confident of progressing in a competition that arguably heralds Shimizu’s best chance of winning a trophy this season.
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