Two matches decided by a style meeting more than by the table. In Sendai, Imabari's new man-to-man high press has repeatedly broken against teams that rotate positions, and rotation is exactly how Sendai build their attacks. At the National Stadium, Marinos bring plenty of the ball but little end product, against a Verdy side that has almost no way to score.
Sendai vs Imabari first. Sendai, top of J2 and unbeaten in ten, win on territory and volume. Their 3-4-2-1 turns into a 4-4-2 on the ball, with Sugiyama drifting between the lines and Ishii and Asakura doubling up on the left. Their quiet home days came against low five-man blocks, but Imabari under Kuboyama do the opposite: they press high and mark man for man.
That press has been beaten whenever the marking references blur. Hachinohe scored three by dropping a midfielder and attacking the space behind the full-back, and Tochigi City found an early goal the same way. Imabari also lose Mori Kota to suspension, their main creator down the left, and their right centre-back spot is unsettled.
Imabari's real threat is Edigar Junio running onto long balls, so this will be more open than Sendai's goalless home draws. But once Sendai score first, a game they have never failed to win in the league, Imabari have to chase, and Sendai's attacking bench gets the space to add more. That's why I'm siding with Sendai to win with room to spare.
Marinos vs Verdy. Verdy under new coach Soma sit in a deep 4-4-2 and have not scored in ninety minutes in his three games, with only six and two shots in the last two. Their starting forward Someno is suspended after his red card, and Yamami and Teranuma are still out, so the long-ball outlet has no settled target.
Marinos will have the ball through Kondo and Miyaichi out wide, but their last two league games were both goalless with one and two shots on target, and Corica himself has named chance creation as the problem. The heavy defeats Verdy have suffered came against much sharper attacks or with ten men.
I expect long spells of Marinos possession against a packed block, with one or two goals at most and very little coming back the other way. That's why I'm siding with a low-scoring game here.
