Japan J2 League | Machida Zelvia vs Tokyo Verdy

Match Date: July 9th, 09:00 (UTC Time)

Against the backdrop of the expansion of the J1 League to 20 teams, Machida Zelvia has been active in recruiting this year. They hired Go Kuroda, a three-time champion coach of the Japanese High School Football National Tournament. After half a season, the team has started to show championship potential: they are currently in first place in the league, leading Tokyo Verdy by a margin of 10 points. They are the team with the most goals scored and the fewest goals conceded in J2. The team has also brought in former Changchun Yatai foreign player Erik Nascimento de Lima, who has scored in the last five league matches and is in great form. He has scored 12 goals so far and has a chance to contend for the league's top scorer title.

Looking at the past two seasons, Tokyo Verdy has shown a strong start but struggled towards the end, mainly due to financial issues. Although the team has passed the J1 license review by the league, they still need to comply with the financial monitoring of the association. The team hasn't invested much in foreign players and lacks a superstar striker. Often, they have to rely on domestic players to score goals. Before this round of matches, their key forward Byron Vásquez transferred to and joined their opponents, Machida Zelvia. It's clear that Tokyo Verdy is not showing intentions of promotion. Although they have had 7 consecutive away victories recently, their opponents' overall strength is not strong, and their performance is not convincing, except for Nagasaki Successful in the upper half of the league.

Team Breakdowns

Machida Zelvia

Advantages

1. History: Machida Zelvia was founded in 1977 and achieved promotion to the J.League through the regional leagues in 2008. They have steadily improved and secured promotion to the J1 League in 2011. They have a solid history of success in the Japanese high school football tournaments.
2. Coach: The current head coach of Machida Zelvia is Go Kuroda, a 53-year-old coach who has achieved success at Aomori Yamada High School. Under his leadership, the team won the national high school football tournament three times and has been a dominant force in high school football. He took charge of the club for the first time this year.
3. Recent form: Machida Zelvia has been in good form in recent league matches, currently leading the standings with an 8-point advantage. They have a 70% win rate in their last 10 matches.
4. Attack: Machida Zelvia has shown a strong attacking prowess, scoring 22 goals in their last ten matches, averaging 2 goals per game.

Disadvantages

1. Head-to-head record: In the last 10 meetings between the two teams, Machida Zelvia has only won 4, drawn 4, and lost 2, resulting in a win rate of only 40%.
2. Departures: Machida Zelvia has seen key players leave the team, including midfielder Taka Takai and top scorer Shusuke Ota, who joined other clubs during the offseason. In addition, foreign players such as Dudu and Araujo have also left the team.

Tokyo Verdy

Advantages

1. Attack: Tokyo Verdy has a strong attacking ability, scoring 14 goals in their last 10 league matches, averaging more than 1 goal per game.
2. Defense: Tokyo Verdy has a solid defense, conceding only 8 goals in their last 10 league matches, averaging less than 1 goal per game.
3. Away performance: Tokyo Verdy has performed well in away matches, achieving a record of 8 wins and 2 losses in their last 10 away league matches.
4. Key player: Defender Koya Sato is the highest-scoring player for Tokyo Verdy, with 4 goals in 14 league appearances.

Disadvantages

1. Departures: Tokyo Verdy has seen several players leave the team during the offseason, including Ryo Yamaguchi, Enduka, Haruya Machiba, and more, which may impact the team's overall strength.
2. Recent form: Tokyo Verdy suffered a 1-2 defeat at home against Nagasaki Successful in their previous league match.

To sum things up, in terms of player depth, Machida has a better bench strength than Tokyo Verdy. Considering the background of playing two matches in a week, plus the addition of Vásquez, Machida has a theoretical greater chance of winning.

Mr.Chips expects that Machida Zelvia will secure 3 points at home.