Jeonbuk vs Kashiwa Reysol Predictions
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Kashiwa Reysol meet in the first round of AFC Elite League phase fixtures.
The Korean champions should put up a strong fight, but Kashiwa have the quality and the form to pick up the points.
BTTS is likely to land, while I also have a stake on Kashiwa Reysol to win on Wednesday
Recent Stats Point to Kashiwa Reysol
- Jeonbuk have seen BTTS in 3 of their last 4 matches
- Jeonbuk scored 1+ goals in 8 of their last 9 matches
- Jeonbuk lost 2 of their last 5 home matches
- Kashiwa Reysol won 5 of their last 8 matches against Jeonbuk
- Kashiwa Reysol won 3 of their last 4 away matches
- Kashiwa Reysol have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 11 away matches
Kashiwa Lead Jeonbuk in H2H Record
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Kashiwa Reysol have met on eight previous occasions. Kashiwa won five of those games, including a 2-0 win in South Korea in 2013.
Wednesday’s matchup is their first encounter since 2018.
Jeonbuk Begin Continental Campaign After Seoul Defeat
Jeonbuk return to Jeonju after slipping to a 2-1 defeat against K League 1 pacesetters FC Seoul on Saturday.
Bruno Rodrigues Mota’s first-half goal looked set to earn the hosts a point, but Patrick Klymala struck six minutes into added time to secure another away win for the runaway leaders.
Jeonbuk could have little complaint about the result after being outshot 19-8 and managing only two efforts on target. Song Bum-keun produced an excellent display in goal, making nine saves to prevent a heavier defeat at Jeonju World Cup Stadium.
Jeong-yong Jung’s men have now won only one of their last matches, leaving them 19 points behind Seoul.
Their recent home record has also been poor, with two wins, two draws and two defeats recorded in their last six league matches in Jeonju.
The Koreans performed well on their last appearance in the AFC Elite three seasons ago. Jeonbuk reached the quarter-final stage before suffering a 2-1 aggregate defeat against fellow KL1 opponents Ulsan.
Kashiwa Reysol Secure Superb Kyoto Comeback
Kashiwa Reysol make the trip to South Korea after a thrilling 3-2 victory at Kyoto Sanga on Friday.
Rafael Elias scored twice to put Kyoto in control, but Tojiro Kubo pulled one back before Yusuke Segawa struck twice after the interval to complete a stunning comeback.
In one of the best games of the J1 League season so far, Kashiwa Reysol deservedly came out on top at Sanga Stadium. Ricardo Rodriguez’s side finished with more shots (19-15), greater possession (56%-44%) and a higher xG total (2.72-1.84).
The Sun King have enjoyed a positive start to their domestic campaign, winning six and losing only two of eight games completed.
Still, a lack of clean sheets remains a concern. Reysol conceded at least one goal in ten of their last 11 competitive fixtures since May.
Competing in the AFC Elite for the first time since 2018, the Japanese side suffered a first-round elimination in their last eight appearance eight years ago.
Jeonbuk vs Kashiwa Reysol Team News
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors: (4-3-3) Song Bum-Keun; Lee Sang-Myung, Yeon Je-Woon, Kim Young-Bin, Kim Tae-Hyun; Lee Yeong-Jae, Joao Gamboa, Kim Jin-Gyu; Seung-Woo Lee, Bruno Rodrigues Mota, Italo de Vargas da Rosa
Jeonbuk boss Jeong-yong Jung has three players listed as unavailable this week. Andrea Compagno, Kim Tae-Hwan and Park Ju-Yeong remain sidelined.
Seung-Woo Lee is tipped to earn a recall after a 45-minute substitute appearance in last weekend’s defeat against Seoul.
Kashiwa Reysol: (3-4-2-1) Ryosuke Kojima; Seiya Baba, Taiyo Koga, Daiki Sugioka; Tojiro Kubo, Koki Kumasaka, Nobuteru Nakagawa, Keita Endo; Yoshio Koizumi, Masaki Watai; Yusuke Segawa
Ricardo Rodriguez is expected to make some alterations to the XI that started last weekend’s comeback win against Kyoto.
Yusuke Segawa is tipped to earn a recall to the starting XI after bagging twice in his second-half substitute appearance.
Kohei Tezuka remains a long-term absentee with a cruciate ligament injury.