Kashima Antlers host Avispa Fukuoka for the playoff round of the YBC Levain Cup. The first game between these two sides resulted in a minimal home win for Avispa, meaning a triumph here is a must-win for the hosts if they wish to advance to the quarter-finals. Kashima is great at home recently, winning four of its previous five matches on this ground. Their last duel at the Kashima Soccer Stadium resulted in a 2-1 victory over Niigata University. Chasing both the Cup and the league title, there is no doubt Rene Weiler's squad will do its best to come back from a 0-1 deficit.

The Antlers continue to chase the J1 League trophy, currently second on the ladder, only behind Yokohama. Phenomenal attacking football is more than enough for these fantastic results, offensively led by in-form Ayase Ueda, Yuma Suzuki, and Arthur. Ueda leads the goal-scoring ladder with ten goals to his name so far, finding the net in four of his last six club appearances. Meanwhile, Avispa is led by Yuya Yamagishi, who only scored three goals for his team in 2022. He was the only scorer in Avispa's recent win against Kashima, but I expect the hosts' defense to give him a hard time in the upcoming meeting.

Fukuoka won in just one of its previous six visits, and is on a three-game winless streak away from home. This club lost six of the last nine away matches against Kashima Antlers, and are not the favorites in this duel either. The hosts are without Ryotaro Araki and Shintaro Nago coming into this clash, but these absentees shouldn't make any trouble for the team's starting eleven.

This match will be a Kashima show from the very start, in which I expect the hosts to win after the first ninety minutes. Good luck!

鹿岛鹿角在联赛杯中主场迎战福冈黄蜂。这两支球队的首场比赛福冈在主场取得了微不足道的胜利，这意味着如果主队想要晋级四分之一决赛，就必须取得胜利。鹿岛最近在主场表现出色，赢得了最近五场比赛中的四场，在鹿岛足的最近一场比赛以2-1击败新泻告终。追逐杯赛和联赛冠军，毫无疑问，雷内·维勒的球队将尽最大努力从 0-1 的劣势中恢复过来。

鹿角继续追逐 J1 联赛奖杯，目前排名第二，仅次于横滨。在状态良好的上田绫濑、铃木优马和亚瑟的带领下，惊人的进攻足球足以获得这些出色的成绩。到目前为止，上田在进球榜上领先，在他最近六场比赛中的四次进球。与此同时，福冈由 Yuya 领先，他在 2022 年只为他的球队打进了三个进球。他是 Avispa 最近战胜鹿岛的唯一得分手，但我预计主队的防守会让他在遇到困难。

福冈在之前的六场比赛中只赢了一场，并且在客场​​连续三场不胜。他们在过去九场客场对阵鹿岛鹿角的比赛中输掉了六场，而且在这场项比赛中也不是夺冠热门。主队缺少荒木良太郎和名护慎太郎参加这场比赛，但这不应该给球队的首发带来任何麻烦。

这场比赛会是一边倒的情况，我预测主队在前 90 分钟内获胜。祝好运！

–

In the Japanese second division, only one point separates the teams from fifth to tenth place. Sitting in the tenth spot, V-Varen Nagasaki aims toward a top-flight promotion, after finishing fourth in 2021. Starting from this season, the sides who finish from third to sixth place are able to go to the promotion playoffs, getting a chance to play in the first division of Japanese football. The guests chase the top six, and a win vs. FC Ryukyu is enough for them to climb the ladder. Ryukyu is the worst team in the league this year, stuck in twenty-second place, the very bottom of the table. Hopeless under the manager Kazuki Kuranuki, the hosts may experience a relegation to the third tier if some things do not change in the club immediately.

Celebrating only one home win since November 2021, Ryukyu's home form has been awful. The team from the island of Okinawa had a solid run last year, finishing ninth even with tiny hope of entering the top flight. But, right now, coming from a 4-0 loss vs. Yamagata, this squad is demotivated and isn't willing to put some passion into playing the matches. Kosuke Inose, Yuki Kusano, Koki Kiyotake, and Ren Ikeda are all injured ahead of this duel, making the underdogs' chances of triumph even lower.

V-Varen Nagasaki continues its three-game away winning run, just coming from a 3-2 away win over Tochigi. Their previous meeting against Ryukyu resulted in a 3-1 victory, so there is absolutely no doubt the visitors come to this game to get another three points. Hiroshi Matsuda's men are offensively led by Cristiano, a former Kashiwa Reysol player, who has found the net five times and assisted four more goals in 2022.

The only possible outcome I can see here is the away side winning. Good luck!

在日本乙级联赛中，第五名到第十名的球队只差一分。排在第十位的长崎2在2021年获得第四名后，目标是升级到顶级联赛。从本赛季开始，从第三名到第六名的球队可以进入晋级季后赛，有机会参加日本足球甲级联赛。客队追逐前六名，一场对FC琉球的胜利就足以让他们爬上天梯。琉球是今年最差的球队，排在第 22 位，处于积分榜的最底端。在经理 Kazuki Kuranuki 的绝望之下，如果俱乐部的某些事情不立即发生变化，主队可能会降级到第三联赛。

自 2021 年 11 月以来仅庆祝了一场主场胜利，琉球的主场状态一直很糟糕。来自冲绳岛的球队去年的表现非常出色，即使进入顶级联赛的希望渺茫，也获得了第九名。但是，现在，来自 4-0输给山形，这支球队士气低落，不愿意在比赛中投入一些激情。赛前，井濑康介、草野由纪、清武幸树、池田莲都受了伤，弱队获胜的机会就更低了。

长崎在客场 3-2 战胜栃木之后继续其三连胜。此前他们与琉球的交手以3-1获胜，所以客队来到本场比赛再拿三分是毫无疑问的。Hiroshi Matsuda 的球队由前柏雷索尔球员克里斯蒂亚诺领导，他在 2022 年已经五次入网并助攻了四个进球。

我看到唯一可能的结果是客队获胜。祝好运！