Tokyo Verdy vs Kashiwa Reysol

A place in the YBC Levain Cup quarter-final is on the line as Tokyo Verdy and Kashiwa Reysol go head-to-head at Ajinomoto Stadium.

Tokyo Verdy should take the field in a buoyant mood after keeping three consecutive clean sheets in domestic competitions in response to a two-game losing streak. After beating Albirex Niigata and Kyoto without conceding, they shared the spoils with Avispa Fukuoka in a goalless J1 League draw last weekend. That same scoreline was on the menu when they met Kashiwa in top-flight action in March, extending Verdy’s unbeaten H2H streak to three matches (W1, D2). Hiroshi Jofuku’s men look well-positioned to make it four in a row after winning three of their last four home outings (L1). With each game in that sequence seeing the winner register a shutout, finding the opening goal could be a decisive factor in this last-16 showdown. 

Conceding first saw Kashiwa slumped to a 3-1 home defeat to reigning J1 League holders Vissel Kobe at the weekend, meaning they’ll enter this fixture amid a rough four-game patch (W1, D1, L2). Both losses in that sequence saw Reysol concede precisely three goals, which was the case in their last H2H defeat in August 2024 (2-3). Ajinomoto Stadium has been a bogey ground for the visitors, considering they’ve suffered three defeats on their five most recent visits (W1, D1). However, they may flip the script this midweek after going unbeaten in 13 of their last 13 competitive matches on the road (W9, D4), including a 2-0 victory over lower-league Renofa Yamaguchi in the previous Levain Cup round.