- Team form: Urawa Red Diamonds have had a solid start to the 2026 J1 100 Year Vision League, winning three, drawing one and losing one of their last five league matches.
- Recent form: Kashiwa Reysol have been inconsistent this year, taking only one win and losing their last league match, a 2-1 away defeat to JEF United Chiba.
- Head-to-head: Kashiwa Reysol have had the better of Urawa Red Diamonds in the last five J1 League head-to-heads, winning three, including a 4-2 thriller in August 2025.
Urawa and Reysol to meet in an open match
Urawa Red Diamonds and Kashiwa Reysol have begun the 2026 J1 100 Year Vision League as they mean to go on, with the hosts sitting in the top group of teams with about 10 points on the board, while Reysol are lingering near the bottom with a low points tally.
Kashiwa’s recent matches have seen plenty of goals scored, as many conceded and very few points taken, and they come into this game on the back of a 5-3 loss to Kawasaki Frontale.
Urawa, on the other hand, have built some momentum in their first few games under Maciej Skorża’s pragmatic management. They have won three, drawn one and lost just one of their first five games, including a couple of vital wins on the road.
Kashiwa will test the Red Diamonds
Tactical approaches
- Ricardo Rodríguez has implemented a flexible, attacking style that starts with high-tempo, possession-based football.
- Kashiwa press with numbers, create wide overloads and seek to turn defenders by playing vertical passes from a 4-2-3-1 base.
- This approach should test Urawa’s structure and tempo control in a match that will likely be won and lost in midfield and wide areas.
Defence and attack
Skorża’s men are a more compact, counter-attacking side that like to play slow and patient football before switching the ball in a transition to a more direct game.
Shusaku Nishikawa is a veteran goalkeeper that looks to be in good form this season, and the back four in front of him, including defensive stalwarts Danilo Boža and Marius Høibråten, have been very solid in recent weeks.
Hiroki Abe and Yusuke Matsuo have brought plenty of pace and directness to the flanks, and Shoya Nakajima has been a creative spark, contributing key assists and late-match involvement in recent wins.
Urawa have a good record against Reysol
Matheus Savio, who has been in fine form for Kashiwa, will be the main creative spark for Reysol, who should also get a goal in the game from Yoichi Naganuma, a solid and lively energy-giver up top.
Urawa will look to build on their good start to the season and Kashiwa will be desperate to stop their early-season slide, although the visitors are the favorite at 2.25, with Urawa coming in at 3.0 and the draw at 3.4, a narrow Urawa win or a high-scoring draw seems the most likely outcome.
Both teams to score seems very likely at 1.62 and this game should be open in the cool, dry conditions of Saitama, which will suit Urawa’s counter-attacking strengths.
Urawa have a better overall record in this fixture since the start of 2020, although Kashiwa have the better of them in the more recent matches, taking three of the last five in the J1 League. Kashiwa have also been conceding goals, so it is clear that both teams will have their chances in what should be an entertaining match.
