Vegalta Sendai and Urawa Reds will trade tackles in a matchday 21 fixture in the J1 League, with three points on the line on Saturday.
The home side come into this game off a 3-2 defeat to Shimizu S-Pulse last week. Yuito Suzuki, Akira Silvano and Thiago Santana all got on the scoresheet for S-Pulse to give them all three points.
Urawa Reds were 2-0 victors over Avispa Fukuoka on home turf. Yoshio Koizumi and Takahiro Akimoto scored in each half while Kasper Junker also missed a late penalty for the hosts.
That win propelled the Tokyo outfit to fifth place in the table with 34 points garnered from 20 matches. Vegalta Sendai are in 17th place, two points away from safety.
Vegalta Sendai vs Urawa Reds Head-to-Head
Urawa Red Diamonds have 13 wins from their last 25 games against Vegalta Sendai. Nine previous games ended in stalemates while Sendai were victorious on just two occasions.
Their most recent meeting came in May when second-half goals from Kasper Junker and Yuki Abe gave Urawa Reds a 2-0 victory on home turf.
Vegalta Sendai are currently on a four-game winless run. Urawa Reds have had just one defeat in their last 13 games in all competitions.
Vegalta Sendai form guide (all competitions): L-D-L-D-W
Urawa Reds form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-D-W
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Vegalta Sendai vs Urawa Reds Team News
Vegalta Sendai
The home side have Kenyan forward John Mary sidelined with an injury but there are no suspension worries for manager Makoto Teguramori.
Injury: John Mary
Suspension: None
Urawa Reds
Urawa Reds have no known injuries or suspension worries.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
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Vegalta Sendai vs Urawa Reds Predicted XI
Vegalta Sendai Predicted XI (3-4-3): Jakub Slowik (GK); Yasuhiro Hiraoka, Kyohei Yoshino, Hayato Teruyama; Koji Hachisuka, Shogo Nakahara, Rikiya Uehara, Takumi Mase; Ryoma Kida, Chihiro Kato; Takuma Nishimura
Urawa Reds Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Shusaku Nishikawa (GK); Takahiro Akimoto, Tomoaki Makino, Takuya Iwanami, Daigo Nishi; Atsuki Ito, Kai Shibato; Tomoaki Okubo, Yoshio Koizumi, Tatsuya Tanaka; Kasper Junker
Vegalta Sendai vs Urawa Reds Prediction
Urawa Reds have been in rampant form of late and their fine run could continue against a Vegalta side that have been out-of-sorts in recent weeks.
The visitors tend to start games quickly and could be afforded plenty of chances against the league's second-worst defense. We are predicting a comfortable victory for Urawa Reds.
Prediction: Vegalta Sendai 0-2 Urawa Reds
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