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Nagoya Grampus will host the Urawa Reds at the Toyota Stadium on Wednesday in the first leg of their J League Cup playoff tie.
The Grampus kicked off their group stage with back-to-back winless outings but recovered commendably to pick up three wins in their final four games and secure second place in their group. They then faced Kyoto Sanga in the first knockout round, winning 7-1 on aggregate.
The home side are the current holders of the cup competition, beating Cerezo Osaka 2-0 in the final last year to lift the domestic title for the first time in the club's history.
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The Urawa Reds have bounced back from their sluggish start to the season and are now pushing for the continental places in the second half of the season. They will aim to carry their strong league form into the domestic cup this week.
The visitors are two-time winners of the J League Cup, last lifting the title in 2016 after beating Gamba Osaka on penalties in the final. They will be hoping to replicate such heights this year.
Nagoya Grampus vs Urawa Reds Head-to-Head
There have been 38 meetings between Nagoya Grampus and the Urawa Reds. The hosts have won 13 of those games while the visitors have won four more. There have been seven draws between the two teams.
The two sides last faced off in a league clash earlier this season, with the Reds winning 3-0.
Nagoya Grampus Form Guide (All Competitions): D-L-L-W-D
Urawa Reds Form Guide (All Competitions): W-L-W-W-D
Nagoya Grampus vs Urawa Reds Team News
Nagoya Grampus
Kazuki Nagasawa, Noriyoshi Sakai and Hidemasa Koda are all injured and will not play in Wednesday's game, while Jakub Świerczok remains out with a suspension and will also be absent.
Injured: Kazuki Nagasawa, Noriyoshi Sakai, Hidemasa Koda
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Jakub Świerczok
Urawa Reds
Hiroki Sakai came off injured against Kawasaki Frontale last time out and is a major doubt for this one. Kasper Junker, Tomoya Inukai and former Feyenoord striker Bryan Linssen are all injured and will not play here.
Injured: Kasper Junker, Tomoya Inukai, Bryan Linssen
Doubtful: Hiroki Sakai
Suspended: None
Nagoya Grampus vs Urawa Reds Predicted XI
Nagoya Grampus Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Mitchell Langerak (GK); Yuichi Maruyama, Haruya Fujii, Shinnosuke Nakatani; Yuki Soma, Leo Silva, Sho Inagaki, Ryoya Morishita; Keiya Sento, Mateus; Kensuke Nagai
Urawa Reds Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Shushaku Nishikawa (GK); Ayumu Ohata, Alexander Scholz, Takuya Iwanami, Kazuaki Mawatari; Atsuki Ito, Ken Iwao; David Moberg Karlsson, Yoshio Koizumi, Takahiro Sekine; Ataru Esaka
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Nagoya Grampus vs Urawa Reds Prediction
Nagoya Grampus are on a three-game winless run and have won just two of their last seven games across all competitions.
The Urawa Reds, meanwhile, are undefeated in their last six competitive outings and have lost just one of their last 10. They are in much better form than their hosts and should win here.
Prediction: Nagoya Grampus 1-2 Urawa Reds
