Match Preview: J1 Week 5 FC Tokyo vs. Kashima Antlers

April 12th 2009, 1PM Kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium (Chofu, Tokyo)
J1 Competition Record: FCT 5 wins, 3 draws, Kashima 10 wins

Background

This is going to be quick and dirty because it’s about 12 hours before kickoff and I’ve been busy as all hell with school.  In any case anyone who’s reading this page probably realizes that the Antlers are defending league champs, but have to juggle their quest for a 3rd straight league title with halfhearted aspirations for the ACL.  Tokyo’s last match was a rain-soaked 1-0 victory against basement-dwellers Jubilo Iwata in which the man of the match was probably Gonda for his superb saves.  Kashima’s last match was against some Singapore team on Tuesday in ACL play, which was apparently a 4-1 thrashing.  In any case Kashima might be a wee bit jetlagged and Tokyo’s itching for a chance to continue its climb up to the top of the table, with many still wondering when Tokyo will play up to its potential.  It should be notable that the two teams’ last meeting was a dramatic 3-2 victory for FCT; it was also the last loss the Antlers would take for the rest of the season.

The Matchup

Apparently Jofuku is trying some weird system out, 4-3-2-1 or 4-4-2-1, something along those lines.  As I’ve said in previous posts, I don’t care if he does 2-3-5 as the team wins.  I wish I had a more complex analysis for the readership but I’m falling asleep in my chair so we’ll leave it at that.

Predictions

Gonda needs to play as well as he did against Jubilo if not better.  The rest of the team needs to play much better.  Kashima will be looking for revenge and the fans will be looking for victory.  It’ll be an aggressive match, possibly with a red card somewhere down the line.  Hell if I’m going to make a prediction as to the winner.