Urawa Red Diamonds vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima 15/08/20

15 August 2020

Sanfrecce Hiroshima head to the Saitama Stadium to take on the Urawa Red Diamonds side they’ve not lost to in three of their last four J1 League H2H meetings (W2, D1).

The hosts are not enjoying the best of times, having lost three of their last four J1 League fixtures (W1, D1), with each of those four results (wins/losses) yielding a full-time margin of at least two goals and seeing the winner on the day keep a blank sheet in the first half. Indeed, the ‘clean-sheet’ theme gains more weight in the context of Urawa’s home clashes this term. Just one of their four J1 League matches held at this venue this season has seen both teams score (W1, D2, L1), with three of those games featuring under 2.5 goals. But, Urawa’s lackadaisical attacking approach has seen them score under 1.5 goals in all of those four contests.

Meanwhile, the visitors have gone from two consecutive league defeats to back-to-back wins, with three of those four results seeing the winner on the day preserve a clean sheet. In fact, Hiroshi Jofuku has based his team’s success on a rock-solid defense that has conceded the division’s joint-low five goals so far. Away from home in J1 League, none of Hiroshima’s four outings has seen both teams score (W2, D1, L1), with the last three featuring under 1.5 goals and a goalless second half. Interestingly, though, none of their previous five top-flight trips to Urawa has ended in a draw (W3, L2). All of those clashes witnessed the winner on the day score over 1.5 goals.