Vissel Kobe invite reigning champions Kawasaki Frontale to the Noevir Stadium Kobe in J1 League action on Wednesday. The hosts secured their first win of the league campaign in their previous outing as they overcame Sagan Tosu with a 4-0 win at home. While it was an excellent win for the hosts, they only moved one place up in the standings.
Kawasaki Frontale have done well so far in their title defense and are in second place in the table. They trail the Kashima Antlers by two points but have a game in hand, and if they can secure a win here, they can move atop the league standings.
Vissel Kobe’s current form might not be the greatest, but this particular derby has so much history and such importance that we can expect the hosts to score at least one goal in 90 minutes. At the same time, we hope for at least two goals from the visitors, the current champions in the league. Four of the last five games between these two teams ended with more than 2.5 goals.
Vissel Kobe were the third-best team in the league last season, and it has been shocking to see them at this position in the new season – the team has been the weakest one in the league. At the same time, their performances in the AFC Champions League suggest that this is the same powerful side that we remember.
Kawasaki Frontale have been the most dominant team in the league for years, and there is few doubt that they will fail to win the championship yet again. They did not start the season in the best possible way and have had their problems, but their current form is extreme again.
Vissel Kobe vs Kawasaki Frontale Predicted XIs
Vissel Kobe (4-2-3-1): Daiya Maekawa (GK); Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoaki Makino, Leo Osaki, Gotoku Sakai; Hotaru Yamaguchi, Shion Inoue; Bojan Krkic, Yuta Goke, Yuya Osako; Yoshinori Muto
Kawasaki Frontale (4-3-3): Sung-Ryong Jung (GK); Miki Yamane, Shogo Taniguchi, Kazuya Yamamura, Asahi Sasaki; Kento Tachibanada, Yasuto Wakizaka, Joao Schmidt; Daiya Tono, Leandro Damiao, Kei Chinen
Vissel Kobe have been a difficult team to predict. They needed 12 games to win their first match of the season after dominating in the AFC Champions League and being one of the top teams in Japan. It has been impossible to predict the way they are going to play. For this reason, we would bet on Kawasaki Frontale because the team is in great shape once again and will be looking for the three points that could take them back to the top of the league.
