Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka prediction, preview, team news and more | J League Cup 2021

Urawa Reds will host Cerezo Osaka in the first leg of their J League Cup semifinal on Wednesday.

The home side secured their spot at this stage on away goals after playing a 4-4 aggregate draw with Kawasaki Frontale in the quarterfinal.

Cerezo Osaka progressed at the expense of city rivals Gamba Osaka with a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Urawa Reds come into the game on the back of a 5-1 thrashing by Vissel Kobe in the J1 League on Sunday. Andres Iniesta scored a brace and provided an assist in the rout while Bojan Krkic also scored his first goal for his new club.

Cerezo Osaka suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Oita Trinita, with Yamato Machida scoring the match-winner in the first half.

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Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Head-to-Head

The two sides have clashed on 31 occasions in the past and Urawa Reds have a marginally better record with 13 wins to their name.

The visitors were victorious on 11 occasions while eight previous matches ended in a share of the spoils.

Their most recent meeting came three weeks ago when goals from Ataru Esaka and Koya Yuruki gave Urawa Reds a 2-0 victory in the league.

Urawa Reds form guide (all competitions): L-W-W-W-D

Cerezo Osaka form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-L-L

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Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Team News

Urawa Reds

There are no known injuries or suspension worries for the hosts.

Injuries: None

Suspension: None

Cerezo Osaka

Goalkeeper Van Lam Dang is the only injury concern for Cerezo Osaka with acromioclavicular separation.

Injury: Van Lam Dang

Suspension: None

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Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI

Urawa Reds Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Shushaku Nishikawa (GK); Takahiro Akimoto, Alexander Scholz, Takuya Iwanami, Hiroki Sakai; Kai Shibato, Yuichi Hirano; Koya Yuruki, Yoshio Koizumi, Takahiro Sekine; Ataru Esaka

Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jin-Hyeon Kim (GK); Yuta Koike, Ayumu Seko, Tiago Pagnussat, Riku Matsuda; Riki Harakawa, Naoyuki Fujita, Takashi Inui; Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Mutsuki Kato, Riki Matsuda

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Urawa Reds vs Cerezo Osaka Prediction

Urawa Reds are favorites in the game and they have been more consistent than Cerezo Osaka.

However, the fact that this is a cup tie means that anything is possible and Cerezo Osaka could be buoyed by their status as underdogs. Nevertheless, we are backing Urawa Reds to triumph with a fairly comfortable victory on home turf.

Prediction: Urawa Reds 2-0 Cerezo Osaka