Nagoya Grampus host Kitakyushu in the J.League Cup. Nagoya have been playing their football in J1 this year, while Kitakyushu operate a level lower in J3, so there's a clear gap in where these two clubs normally compete.
Nagoya go into this one sitting top of their cup section after a strong run of results, whereas Kitakyushu's recent form has been much more up and down. That contrast is worth digging into before landing on how this tie might go.
Analysis updated .
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Recent form for each side
Nagoya's last 20 matches, mostly in J1 with a few cup and friendly games mixed in, show 7 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses, with 34 goals scored and 35 conceded. That's a fairly even points return but it does include some big scorelines both ways, a 6-1 win over Cerezo Osaka and a 1-5 defeat at Avispa Fukuoka among them.
Nagoya Grampus: 20 completed matches; Kitakyushu: 20 completed matches.
Nagoya Grampus
- Win
- 35% 7 / 20
- Draw
- 25% 5 / 20
- Loss
- 40% 8 / 20
- Scored
- 34
- Conceded
- 35
- Difference
- -1
Kitakyushu
- Win
- 20% 4 / 20
- Draw
- 25% 5 / 20
- Loss
- 55% 11 / 20
- Scored
- 23
- Conceded
- 40
- Difference
- -17
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Cup | Nagoya Grampus | Gainare Tottori | 26.08.2026 | 1-3 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Consadole Sapporo | Nagoya Grampus | 25.07.2026 | 1-0 |
| Friendlies Clubs | FC Tokyo | Nagoya Grampus | 21.07.2026 | 2-1 |
| J1 League | Machida Zelvia | Nagoya Grampus | 06.06.2026 | 2-1 |
| J1 League | Nagoya Grampus | Machida Zelvia | 30.05.2026 | 2-2 |
| J1 League | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Nagoya Grampus | 23.05.2026 | 4-2 |
| J1 League | Cerezo Osaka | Nagoya Grampus | 17.05.2026 | 6-1 |
| J1 League | Nagoya Grampus | Kyoto Sanga | 10.05.2026 | 3-0 |
| J1 League | Nagoya Grampus | Gamba Osaka | 06.05.2026 | 2-1 |
| J1 League | V-varen Nagasaki | Nagoya Grampus | 03.05.2026 | 1-2 |
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J3 League | Kitakyushu | Kagoshima United | 26.09.2026 | 1-1 |
| J3 League | Sagamihara | Kitakyushu | 20.09.2026 | 1-2 |
| J3 League | Kitakyushu | Gainare Tottori | 12.09.2026 | 2-4 |
| J3 League | FC Ryukyu | Kitakyushu | 09.09.2026 | 3-0 |
| J3 League | Ehime FC | Kitakyushu | 05.09.2026 | 4-2 |
| J-League Cup | Kitakyushu | Iwaki | 02.09.2026 | 1-0 |
| J3 League | Kitakyushu | Matsumoto Yamaga | 30.08.2026 | 1-1 |
| J3 League | Tochigi SC | Kitakyushu | 22.08.2026 | 2-2 |
| Emperor Cup | Kitakyushu | Okinawa SV | 19.08.2026 | 1-2 |
| J3 League | Kitakyushu | Kamatamare Sanuki | 15.08.2026 | 0-0 |
Kitakyushu's equivalent sample across J3 League, cup and friendly fixtures reads 4 wins, 5 draws and 11 losses from 20 games, with 24 goals for and 41 against. That's a much heavier defeat count and a goal difference that points to a side finding results hard to come by lately.
Nagoya's underlying form looks steadier than Kitakyushu's, even allowing for the different competitions involved.
Comparative Team Statistics: Nagoya Grampus vs Kitakyushu
Where Nagoya stand in this cup section
The standings data we have shows Nagoya top of their cup group with 15 points from 6 games, built on 5 wins and just 1 loss, and a goal record of 11 for and 5 against. That's a strong return in this specific competition phase.
| № | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF/GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group C | |||||||
| 1 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11/5 | 15 |
| 2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12/7 | 9 |
| 3 | Yokohama FC | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7/10 | 6 |
| 4 | Vissel Kobe | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4/12 | 6 |
We don't have the full section table here, so we can't say exactly how close the chasing pack is, but Nagoya's own numbers in this competition are clearly healthy.
Attacking names in the mix
Y. Asano has scored twice in his last two appearances for Nagoya, going by the sample we have, which points to a forward in decent form right now.
On the Kitakyushu side, K. Sakamoto has registered an assist in his last two matches, suggesting he's been involved in their attacking play even during a difficult run of results.
Squad lists and player details
Squad and player details
| Name | Country | Age | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D. Schmidt | Japan | 34 | Goalkeeper | 197 | 88 |
| T. Uchida | Japan | 28 | Midfielder | 177 | 69 |
| K. Nagai | Japan | 37 | Attacker | 177 | 72 |
| Y. Takeda | Japan | 39 | Goalkeeper | 189 | 83 |
| H. Fujii | Japan | 25 | Defender | 185 | 74 |
| R. Izumi | Japan | 32 | Midfielder | 173 | 72 |
| T. Takamine | Japan | 28 | Midfielder | 177 | 74 |
| Y. Nogami | Japan | 35 | Defender | 180 | 72 |
| S. Inagaki | Japan | 34 | Midfielder | 176 | 72 |
| T. Morishima | Japan | 29 | Attacker | 175 | 67 |
| R. Yamanaka | Japan | 33 | Midfielder | 174 | 71 |
| K. Shiihashi | Japan | 29 | Midfielder | 178 | 75 |
| T. Hara | Japan | 28 | Defender | 180 | 71 |
| Y. Asano | Japan | 29 | Midfielder | 173 | 72 |
| A. Kawazura | Japan | 32 | Defender | 184 | 77 |
| M. Ono | Japan | 30 | Midfielder | 172 | 69 |
| S. Tokumoto | Japan | 31 | Defender | 171 | 73 |
| K. Nakayama | Japan | 30 | Midfielder | 180 | 70 |
| K. Mikuni | Japan | 26 | Defender | 193 | 85 |
| Y. Yamagishi | Japan | 33 | Attacker | 183 | 80 |
| Name | Country | Age | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R. Nagai | Japan | 35 | Attacker | 180 cm | 73 kg |
| H. Izawa | Japan | 27 | Midfielder | 179 cm | 73 kg |
| T. Inui | Japan | 30 | Defender | 187 cm | 73 kg |
| A. Yada | Japan | 35 | Midfielder | 170 cm | 64 kg |
| K. Hoshi | Japan | 34 | Midfielder | 169 cm | 60 kg |
| Riku Kobayashi | Japan | 25 | Midfielder | 170 cm | 63 kg |
| T. Hommura | Japan | 29 | Defender | 178 cm | 78 kg |
| S. Hirayama | Japan | 27 | Attacker | 181 cm | 72 kg |
| H. Maeda | Japan | 28 | Defender | 177 cm | 70 kg |
| K. Kudo | Japan | 23 | Defender | 180 | 72 |
| S. Omori | Japan | 25 | Attacker | 180 cm | 77 kg |
| K. Fujiwara | Japan | 22 | Midfielder | 177 cm | 70 kg |
| S. Ito | Japan | 23 | Defender | 188 cm | n/a |
| B. Ino | Japan | 23 | Midfielder | 170 cm | n/a |
| R. Takahashi | Japan | 21 | Midfielder | 156 | n/a |
| Koh Seung-Jin | Korea Republic | 25 | Attacker | 172 cm | 68 kg |
| T. Wakaya | Japan | 25 | Midfielder | 170 cm | 62 kg |
| R. Okano | Japan | 26 | Midfielder | 165 cm | 62 kg |
| R. Kanzawa | Japan | 20 | Midfielder | 175 cm | 68 kg |
| K. Yoshida | Japan | 23 | Attacker | 175 cm | n/a |
Nagoya's numbers, both in general form and within this cup section, put them in a stronger position on paper. Kitakyushu's away-heavy run of results has clearly been tougher, with more losses than wins across their recent games.
Without pricing to weigh against that gap, and with cup selection always a bit of an unknown, we'd rather sit this one out than force a pick.
Who will win?
