National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Nagoya Grampus or Shimizu S-Pulse that keep their silverware dream alive.
It's no vacation for neither Nagoya Grampus nor Shimizu S-Pulse as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Nagoya Grampus form and stats
1-0-0 (win-draw-lost) are the J-League numbers at home for Nagoya Grampus so far this season.
Nothing to worry about in defence for Grampus, as their goalkeeper Mitchell James Langerak has completely shut out the opponents for 183 minutes in the J-League.
Nagoya Grampus's previous game was also played at home, ending 2-0 versus Vissel Kobe. The home side are looking to build on that result. Defender Pagnussat got the top score of the team in the match with a rating of 8.05/10. Pagnussat won 5 of 6 duels.
Before that, Grampus drew at home versus Urawa Reds.The hosts are favourites to win this game, with an estimated chance of about 55-60% of that outcome. Earlier Nagoya Grampus matches with similar probabilities have ended with three wins, one draw and one defeat (from five games).
Early season league goal statistics from Nagoya Grampus's 1 home game: 2 goals, 0 conceded.
Shimizu S-Pulse form and stats
Shimizu S-Pulse was sent out of Ybc Levain Cup in the play-offs last season, when Kashima Antlers turned out to be too strong.Shimizu S-Pulse's last game ended in a draw, the home match versus Consadole Sapporo that finished 1-1. Defender Hara was the best team player with a rating of 7.44. Hara served one assist, hit two key passes and won 5 of 12 duels.
A home win before that, celebrating 2-1 vs Cerezo Osaka.There might be some complaints about the fixture list from the Shimizu manager Hiraoka as the team has another away game coming up in only three days, this time against Jubilo Iwata.
Head 2 Head
Numbers for the former ten meetings featuring these two teams are: four wins for Nagoya Grampus, two draws and four wins for Shimizu S-Pulse. Over 2,5 goals: eight times; under 2,5 goals: two games.Top Goalscorers
  S. Inagaki 1 goals |  Y. Suzuki 1 goals |
Nagoya Grampus missing players
Shimizu S-Pulse missing players
| Nagoya Grampus | Shimizu S-Pulse | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 16 | Played | P | 11 | 25 | ||
| 15 | 12 | Won | W | 3 | 9 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Drew | D | 4 | 7 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Lost | L | 4 | 9 | ||
| 38 | 27 | Scored | S | 13 | 27 | ||
| 21 | 10 | Conceded | C | 17 | 35 | ||
| 96% | 94% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 100% | ||
| 76% | 69% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 82% | 72% | ||
| 40% | 38% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 55% | 48% | ||
| 16% | 19% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 27% | 24% | ||
| 4% | 6% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 9% | 4% | ||
| 40% | 31% | BTTS | BTTS | 73% | 56% | ||
| 48% | 62% | Clean Sheets | C S | 9% | 16% | ||
| 16% | 12% | Failed to Score | F T | 18% | 28% | ||
| 3.6 | 3.8 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 3.6 | 4.6 | ||
| 5.3 | 4.8 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.3 | 5 | ||
| 0.6 | 0.8 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 0.5 | 0.7 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 1 | ||
| 9.3 | 10.7 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 8.4 | 9.8 | ||
| 4.4 | 5.3 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 3.6 | 4 | ||
| 34% | 32% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 32% | 27% | ||
| 9.7 | 9.5 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 11.4 | 10.9 | ||
| 4.1 | 4 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 4.5 | 4.3 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Nagoya Grampus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Tokushima Vortis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | Kashiwa Reysol | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Nagoya Grampus | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Kawasaki Frontale | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Kyoto Sanga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Cerezo Osaka | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Avispa Fukuoka | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Consadole Sapporo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Jubilo Iwata | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Sagan Tosu | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Tokyo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 15 | Urawa Reds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 16 | Gamba Osaka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| 17 | Shonan Bellmare | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| 18 | Vissel Kobe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
