Kawasaki Frontale vs Shonan Bellmare 26/07/20

26 July 2020

Kawasaki Frontale will look to maintain an unbeaten start to their 2020/21 Japan J1 League campaign when they meet Shonan Bellmare at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium this weekend.

After a goalless home draw with Sagan Tosu on the opening matchday, the hosts have racked up a five-game winning J1 League run to move two points clear of Nagoya at the summit. Impressively, Kawasaki have averaged 3.4 goals scored across those victories, scoring at least twice in one half on each of those occasions. Curiously, four of their five home matches this calendar year (friendlies included) have featured over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring, with Kawasaki averaging 3.6 goals netted per game. Toru Oniki’s men seem likely to maintain a free-scoring form here, as they take on a side they’ve notched over 1.5 goals against in four of their last five competitive H2Hs held at this stadium (W3, D2).

On the other hand, a narrow 1-0 home triumph over Kashiwa during the midweek has marked Shonan’s first J1 League win of the season (D1, L4). But, the visitors have lost both of their top-flight trips so far via the identical 3-2 scoreline, with four of those six goals conceded arriving in the second half. In fact, three of Shonan’s six league matches since the beginning of the campaign featured at least one goal inside the final 15 minutes of play. Additionally, if they manage to get on the scoresheet here, Bin Ukishima’s players seem very likely to do it after the break, as six of their seven league goals scored this term came in the second 45 minutes of action.