On Wednesday, Gamba Osaka and Urawa Reds will compete for a spot in the Japanese Emperors Cup semifinal. The hosts are coming off a 1-0 win over Sagan Tosu at the same venue on Saturday. In the first half, Takashi Usami scored the game-winning goal.
Urawa Reds dominated Kashiwa Reysol 5-1 at home, with Koya Yuruki’s first-half brace putting them on their way to a comfortable win. With a 1-0 away win over Kyoto Sanga FC in August, they qualified for this stage of the tournament. In the 15th minute, Takuya Iwanami scored the game-winning goal. With a 4-1 win at home, Gamba Osaka advanced at the cost of Shonan Bellmare.
Urawa Reds vs. Gamba Osaka Head-to-Head
Urawa Reds have lost 22 of their past 45 games vs Gamba Osaka. The hosts have 12 wins under their belt, while 11 previous meetings have ended in a draw.
Their most recent meeting was in a league match earlier this month when both teams were held to a 1-1 draw thanks to two injury-time penalties from Patric and Atanu Esaka.
W-D-L-W-W
W-D-L-D-L
Predicted Playing XI for Gamba Osaka versus Urawa Reds
Masaaki Higashiguchi (GK); Kim Young-Gwon, Shunya Suganuma, Ko Yanagisawa; Hiroki Fujiharu, Yosuke Ideguchi, Yuki Yamamoto, Shu Kurata; Wellington Silva, Takashi Usami, Patricio Garcia
Shushaku Nishikawa (GK); Ryosuke Yamanaka, Alexander Scholz, Takuya Iwanami, Hiroki Sakai; Kai Shibato, Yuichi Hirano; Koya Yuruki, Yoshio Koizumi, Takahiro Sekine; Ataru Esaka; Urawa Reds Predicted XI (4-2-3-1)
Prediction for Gamba Osaka versus Urawa Reds
Urawa Reds are favorites and have been the more consistent side throughout the season, despite playing away from home.
Both teams are attacking-minded and have a good chance of scoring. Urawa Reds, on the other hand, are expected to advance to the semifinals with a narrow victory. Gamba Osaka 1-2 Urawa Reds is my prediction.