THIS IS A SAMPLE OF THE LINEUP REPORT I DO FOR PATREONS EACH GW INFO ABOUT IT CAN BE FOUND HERE
Intro
After a 2 week break which saw Japan win the EAFF tournament, we return to (hopefully) a full schedule of the J1 league!
I say hopefully as there has been a number of teams who had to cancel training due to covid outbreaks, I will be updating info on this when I see it
I have made the predicted lineups for games on the PlaySharper app which can be found here:
https://playsharper.com/lineups Please only use the website rather than the app as there are some bugs currently being looked into on the mobile app.
I have also copy pasted the image of the lineups incase you have difficulty accessing the desktop site.
Important to note the %s used here and where they are not above 75% it is because I feel there is some risk involved. My main aim with these is to show where risk/potential DNPs are lurking.
I base these %s on info I read from various sources including comments from the manager and reading a lot of local Japanese news coverage/message boards.
These are my own opinion of the situation at each team. I try to be as neutral as possible but we all have biases :) So always do your own research when making picks! I may well miss something but a lot of times its due to lack of information where we get "surprise" DNPs. I will also have more info for players I own as a I naturally check those more actively.
Player Suspensions
The following players are suspended for this GW:
National Team starters
Please note the below players played on Wednesday night for Japan. This means they have lower % to start than normal though as the game was held in Japan this means less travel and improves their chances to play for their respective teams:
J1 League GW292
Sapporo vs Nagoya
There is 1 Covid case in the top team
Fukai has said hes ready to return
Lucas Fernandes is in full training and could be pushing for a start. Fukumori is at risk again and we could see Takamine starting in defence
Covid outbreak that led to training being postponed. Training is now back, awaiting training photos/info
UPDATE: The training was done privately, the manager had this to say:
Nagai & Naldinho are new signing and will be pushing for starts
Nakatani was a unused sub in the international game vs S.Korea on Wednesday night and should be fine here. Soma played and scored, my feeling is he will play here especially with Yoshida suspended
Odds
Iwata vs Shonan
1 Covid case
Gonzalez has returned to full training and should start
New signing Ko Matsubara could be handed his debut too
1 Covid case
Machino and Tani played for the international team vs S.Korea on Wednesday hence the lower than normal % for Machino. They did train yesterday so I see them starting this one
Odds
Urawa vs Kawasaki
Linssen was injured in the friendly vs PSG and is a big doubt for this game
Junker should start this one, he has been training well and has said in recent interviews hes motivated
Players seen in training (if not seen, doesnt mean are out - could just not have been photographed!)
Chinen
Mawatari
Shibato
Sakai
Matsuo
Ito
Junker
Esaka
Moberg
Schalk
Suzuki
Matsuzuki
Sekine
Iwao
Akimoto
Koizumi
Ohata
Notable players not seen:
Linssen (went off injured vs PSG
Scholz (didnt play vs PSG and not seen in training)
We got the below news on Thursday sadly:
Its likely Yamane has covid as he wasnt in the squad for Japan national team at the same time they reported a case
I am waiting for training info/any hints for Frontale. At the moment I would avoid or use only in speculative teams
So far, the only hint we have got it with Seko doing the press conference. Wakizaka was on international duty and only play a few mins on Wednesday so should be fine here. My feeling is Taniguchi depsite playing the full game may be required to play this game
Saying this - the game is at risk of postponement depending on if anymore positive cases are found today or tomorrow
Odds
Yokohama FM vs Kashima
1- 4 cases of Covid
A number of players for YFM were part of the recent Japan squad - we know Miyaichi was injured and v unlikely to play here
Outside this, I am awaiting training news/photos to get hints on who is likely to start. I will post these on Discord if/when they come. YFM also have a very busy schedule coming up including a quarter final league cup clash vs Hiroshima midweek.
Around 4-7 of Covid cases
Misao and Anzai returned to training yesterday. Unclear if match fit though I see them likely starting
Sun Tae a doubt, could mean Oki starts though its hard to know for sure just based on this:
Players seen in training (if not seen, doesnt mean are out - could just not have been photographed!)
Higuchi
Bueno
Sekigawa
Alano
Pituca
Izumi
Caike
Doi
Everaldo
Suzuki
Funabashi
Hirose
Anzai (seen according to msg board on 28th, uncertain if match fit)
Misao(seen according to msg board on 28th, uncertain if match fit)
Notable players not seen:
Tsunemoto (msg boards think he has covid)
Sun Tae (missed training, unclear his condition)
Odds
Gamba Osaka vs Kyoto
CBs here are very hard to predict. Kwon played for S.Korea and looked to be fatigued. Shoji has alot of rumours flying around about his future and the defence is general looked poor (though not unsurprisingly!) vs PSG
Meshino is pushing for a start. Yamami was one of a few bright sparks in that PSG game and also is pushing for a start
We got the below announcement from Kyoto last week:
I am still awaiting training pictures so for the time being I would suggest avoid using any Kyoto players
Kyoto signed Carius recently though again I would want to see training pictures before I put him into the predicted team
Odds
C.Osaka vs Fukuoka
Harakawa was reported to be seen in training, I havent seen him in recent training pics personally so am uncertain his condition.
Taggart and Mendes also seen in training and pushing for a start
Up to 9 top squad players tested postive for covid last week
Waiting for training pictures, for now I would avoid if possible. These %s are based on the assumption all are available to play as its impossible to know who may have tested positive. All indications point to the game going ahead though there is a slight risk of postponement
Kobe vs Kashiwa
Up to 3 players with covid from last week
Iniesta unavailable as has returned to Spain for family reasons. Muto not seen in training photos
Kikuchi out injured so Makino should start here. New signing Kobayashi already in training though unknown if match fit
Up to 3 Covid cases - msg board expects a strong team though
Keeper Morita signed for Kashiwa, its unknown if he will be a starter. Sasaki has done well and especially after a CS last game it would be harsh to drop him though never underestimate how much experience is wanted in the J league! One to watch for sure and I hope Sasaki stays in nets here as he deserves it.
Douglas seen in training! Not sure if match fit
Ominami and Hosoya were called up for the nationals squad but not used
Odds
Hiroshima vs Tokyo
Douglas Viera seen in training though unlikely to be match fit yet
Sasaki played for Japan on Wednesday so increased chance of rotation here. Notsuda, was an unused subs so should be fine here. Morishima took a knock and unsure his condition
Luiz Phellype joined the team and could play this one. My gut is he will gradually put into the side as a sub
Tsukagawa joined from Kawasaki and will be also pushing for a start in midfield
Odds
Shimizu vs Sagan
Another team that cancelled recent training due to a covid outbreak with at least 7 players testing positive recently. Rumour is Gonda is one of these so Okubo could come in. The game is also potentially at risk depending on todays tests
Shimizu have also been busy in the transfer market and depending on fitness, Inui and Pikachu will be pushing for a start.
Odds
Finish
I hope you found this useful! As we can see this GW has been hit hard by covid cases. I have tried to go through for each team various sources to get the best available info to dodge those DNPs. There are also a few games at risk of cancellation especially Shimizu vs Sagan Tosu and Kawasaki vs Urawa. I hope to get more info/announcements before the deadline.
In terms of betting odds, I feel they are slightly off this GW and not factored in rotation risks due to the covid outbreaks. I do however like xGA- Shonan have amongst the best xGA and that favours the U23 pairing of Tani and Sugioka
xG - Yokohama FM, alongside Hiroshima top the xG charts
I will be updating the Discord Channel with any info I see that could prove useful all the way to deadline, so keep a look out for that!
