Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds braced for tight first leg in J-League Cup quarter-finals
Gamba Osaka vs Urawa Red Diamonds - 06/09/2023
2464
Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds lock horns at Panasonic Stadium Suita for the first leg of their J-League Cup quarter-final showdown on Wednesday.
The competition started all the way back in March, with Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds winning their respective groups to book their place in the last eight.
Can the Black and Blues gain the upper hand on home soil? Or will the Red Devils take a lead into the second leg? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, Gamba Osaka, who finished atop Group E – ahead of FC Tokyo, Kyoto Sanga and Cerezo Osaka – to punch their ticket to the quarter-finals.
The Black and Blues recorded three wins, one draw and two losses during the group stage, scoring eight goals while conceding on four occasions.
That said, Gamba Osaka head into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Consadole Sapporo.
Having won just nine of their 26 league outings this season – recording six draws and 11 losses along the way – Gamba Osaka will need to up their game if they want to advance in the J-League Cup.
Meanwhile, Urawa Red Diamonds enjoyed an unbeaten group-stage campaign in the J-League Cup, although they only managed to win one of their six matches.
Following a run of one win and five draws, the Red Devils finished level on points with Shimizu S-Pulse and Kawasaki Frontale in Group B but progressed as group winners.
Entering the first leg on a four-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, Urawa Red Diamonds find themselves fifth in the J1 League – 12 points clear of Gamba Osaka.
In fact, the Red Devils have lost just five of their 26 league encounters this term, highlighting their resilience.
Head-to-head: Gamba Osaka have only managed to win one of their last six meetings with Urawa Red Diamonds across all competitions.
Since 2020, the Black and Blues have won just two of their eight encounters with the Red Devils, suffering four defeats in the process.
Team news: Gamba Osaka will be without the injured duo of Genta Miura (fractured foot) and Riku Handa (fractured fibula) on Wednesday.
As for Urawa Red Diamonds, they have reported no injury problems ahead of the first leg, meaning former Barcelona B forward Hiroki Abe could make his debut.
With a place in the semi-finals of the J-League Cup on the line, Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds look set to serve up a tense first leg.
Forebet predicts that Gamba Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds will play out a low-scoring draw on Wednesday, setting up a winner-takes-all second-leg showdown.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
JpC
283735
X
1 - 1
2.06
19°
3.30
2.75
3.30
2.50
no
no
no
0 - 1(0 - 0)
Home
Football 
Basketball
Hockey
American Football
Baseball
Rugby
Volleyball
Handball
Esoccer
