Urawa Red Diamonds vs Fagiano Okayama Prediction: Santana Is Our Golden Ticket—Will He Score Or Assist?

Urawa Red Diamonds will welcome Fagiano Okayama to the Saitama Stadium in the fifth round of the J1 League. Can the home team finally win at home against new boys Okayama or will they drop points again?

Let's head into the match preview to find the best odds on the Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Fagiano Okayama game and my expert picks to place your bets.

Urawa Red Diamonds

Urawa Red Diamonds have made an unwanted start to the 2024-25 J1 League campaign. They are without a win in four league games so far, recording two losses and two draws.

In their recent outing, the Reds were outplayed in a 2-0 home defeat against Kashiwa Reysol. They conceded two first half goals from Reysol players Yuki Kakita and Tomoya Koyamatsu. 

That result marked their second consecutive league defeat, leaving them in the relegation zone in 19th place. They are one point adrift of safety and a win here could lift them up to 12th place.

Fagiano Okayama

Fagiano Okayama, on the other hand, are situated in the upper half of the J1 League table and can have no complaints about how they've fared so far. With 7 points accumulated in four games, they are in seventh place and three points behind early pacesetter Kashiwa Reysol. 

Last Sunday, Okayama made sure to walk away with a point in a 1-1 draw against Shimizu S-Pulse. It was a tense affair that saw both sides play to a goalless draw in the first half. The visitors found themselves trailing in the 68th minute courtesy of a Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi strike. However, it wasn't until Takaya Kimura, off the bench, restored parity seven minutes later.

Heading into this clash, they are unbeaten in two league games and have lost one of their last four matches (W2, D1). In their first away match in the top-flight, they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against Yokohama FC. They will be hoping for a more improved showing this time. 

Match Facts

• Urawa Red Diamonds has won just two of their last nine home league games.
• Fagiano Okayama has failed to score in just one of their last four matches in the J1 League.
• Urawa Red Diamonds has conceded a goal in each of their last three matches in the league.
• Urawa Red Diamonds has conceded the first goal in each of their last three league games.

Head-To-Head

This will be the first meeting between these two sides in the J1 League. 

Expert Betting Tips

Urawa Red Diamonds are in for another poor season in the J1 League taking into account their unwanted start. It might be best to avoid them in the full-time market given their struggles at the moment.

That said, I'm backing Thiago Santana to score or dish out an assist in this match. Santana was last season's top goalscorer for Urawa Red Diamonds with 12 goals in 36 appearances. This season the 32-year-old has already scored two goals in four appearances. I'm expecting him to get on the scoreboard or assist here.

Our main prediction for the match: Player to Score or Assist - Thiago Santana for 2.00 with Bet365. 

2nd prediction: Both Teams To Score - Yes for 1.9 with 1xbet.

3rd prediction: Goals - Over 2.5 for 2.11 with Betway.