Urawa Red Diamonds' defeat at home to Pohang Steelers a fortnight ago was a disaster for the reigning champions, and now they'll have to fight it out with their rivals again in order to qualify for the second round. Urawa Red Diamonds are 5 points behind Pohang Steelers at the top of the table with 3 rounds of group stage matches remaining, so a loss would mean that they are unable to overtake their rivals and will have to fight for the second place qualification.
I think POSCO coach Kim Ki-dong did a good job with his tactics in the last round of the group stage. His backline was very organized, and in the midfield, the two midfielders created a barrier in front of the 4 defenders, which made Urawa Red Diamonds rarely able to create threatening scoring chances.
However, when they attacked, they were often able to do so in a goal-oriented manner. Kim Seung Dae was excellent on the left side, his pinpoint cross assisted the team's first goal, while Kim In Sung did well on the right side after coming in as a backup. Overall, they are well balanced in both offense and defense.
A draw won't be enough for Urawa Red Diamonds, they need to win. But they are not an all-attacking team, and Scorsese is a prudent supervisor who believes that as long as the team stays patient, chances will come.
I expect right-sided player Hiroki Sakai to return to the starting lineup and become an important part of Urawa Red Diamonds' deployment for this match. José Ganti, who missed the last game due to injury, should be back in the starting lineup this time around, as his counterattacking speed and positioning in the box could be the difference between a win and a loss.
