The J-League is back and as we welcome the teams to the 1st round of the season, we hope to see how the new faces will perform and if the teams will live up to their potential. In this preview, we will check out the match between Sagan Tosu and Nagoya Grampus, which will take place on 23rd February at Best Amenity Stadium, Tosu.

Sagan Tosu finished last season at the 14th place, mostly due to their poor offence, which failed to produce more than 29 goals. In fact, Sagan Tosu did not only have a bad attack... they had the worst offence in the whole league. On the bright side, I believe this won't be the case this season, for 2 reasons. Not only have they replaced their former (too defensive-minded) coach with Lluís Carreras, who has proven to be the right pick for this team, Sagan Tosu has also brought in Cuenca who will surely be a great addition to their already (potentially) strong attack.

Going into the next match, Sagan are favourites, solely due to home advantage. Last season Sagan Tosu proved they perform much better at home compared to games on the road. In the course of 34 games last season, they managed to win 8 games at home. That is out of 10 games won in the whole season. While the fact they won 8 games is not particularly impressive, the fact that they won 80% of their games at home is impressive.

On the other side, we have got Nagoya Grampus who just barely escaped the relegation last season. They managed to finish 1 spot above the relegation zone with a win in the last round of the season. This season they will hope for a better start of the season, and hopefully for a better result in the end. When I think about Nagoya Grampus I don't only remember a team that managed to save themselves from relegation in the "last second" of the last season, but also a team that impressed with their potent attack. With 52 goals scored in 34 games, they were the 3rd most successful goalscorers in the league. However, on the other side of the field, Nagoya underperformed, as they conceded 59 goals, which was the worst record in the league.

Despite this match being the first game of the season, I expect it to be a highly entertaining one, and quite possibly THE most entertaining one to watch on Sunday. With 2 teams that have got a strong attack and relatively poor defence, this should end up in a high tempo and high scoring match. While Sagan Tosu do not come off as a "attacking-minded team" looking at their last season, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they will manage to perform better with a new coach and Cuenca who will join Torres and Ibarbo up front. Despite the fact Sagan are favourites here, they should not underestimate Nagoya, who can surprise with their prolific goalscorers. In conclusion, this match should end with plenty of goals, and at least 1 per side.

Prediction: Over 2.50 goals
BetScorum Link: https://betscorum.com/en-us/game/5835