Vissel Kobe host Jeonbuk Motors in the AFC Champions League. Kobe have looked the steadier of the two sides in their domestic form this year, while Jeonbuk have drawn more matches than they've won across their recent run.
Both clubs won their opening group fixture in this campaign, so there's early parity between them before this one. The two sides met once before, back in 2022, and that game didn't go Kobe's way on their own turf.
Analysis updated .
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Kobe's steadier run against Jeonbuk's draw-heavy sequence
Across their last 20 matches, spanning J1 League, continental football, cup ties and friendlies, Vissel Kobe have won 11, drawn 6 and lost just 3, scoring 32 and conceding 24. That's a decent scoring return and a win rate that stands out.
Vissel Kobe: 20 completed matches; Jeonbuk Motors: 20 completed matches.
Vissel Kobe
- Win
- 55% 11 / 20
- Draw
- 30% 6 / 20
- Loss
- 15% 3 / 20
- Scored
- 32
- Conceded
- 24
- Difference
- +8
Jeonbuk Motors
- Win
- 30% 6 / 20
- Draw
- 45% 9 / 20
- Loss
- 25% 5 / 20
- Scored
- 23
- Conceded
- 20
- Difference
- +3
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Cup | Vissel Kobe | Sagan Tosu | 23.09.2026 | 1-0 |
| AFC Champions League Elite | Port FC | Vissel Kobe | 16.09.2026 | 1-2 |
| Emperor Cup | Vissel Kobe | Veroskronos Tsuno | 26.08.2026 | 2-1 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Vissel Kobe | Imabari | 22.07.2026 | 2-1 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Vissel Kobe | Consadole Sapporo | 18.07.2026 | 1-1 |
| J1 League | Kashima | Vissel Kobe | 06.06.2026 | 2-0 |
| J1 League | Vissel Kobe | Kashima | 30.05.2026 | 5-0 |
| J1 League | Avispa Fukuoka | Vissel Kobe | 23.05.2026 | 0-1 |
| J1 League | V-varen Nagasaki | Vissel Kobe | 17.05.2026 | 2-2 |
| J1 League | Vissel Kobe | Kyoto Sanga | 13.05.2026 | 1-0 |
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K League 1 | Jeonbuk Motors | Gwangju FC | 20.09.2026 | 2-2 |
| AFC Champions League Elite | Jeonbuk Motors | Kashiwa Reysol | 16.09.2026 | 2-1 |
| K League 1 | Jeonbuk Motors | FC Seoul | 12.09.2026 | 1-2 |
| K League 1 | Gangwon FC | Jeonbuk Motors | 09.09.2026 | 1-1 |
| K League 1 | Jeonbuk Motors | Pohang Steelers | 05.09.2026 | 2-0 |
| K League 1 | Incheon United | Jeonbuk Motors | 30.08.2026 | 1-1 |
| K League 1 | Gimcheon Sangmu FC | Jeonbuk Motors | 25.08.2026 | 0-0 |
| K League 1 | Jeonbuk Motors | Ulsan Hyundai FC | 22.08.2026 | 1-0 |
| FA Cup | Jeonbuk Motors | Dangjin Citizen | 19.08.2026 | 2-2 |
| K League 1 | Bucheon FC 1995 | Jeonbuk Motors | 16.08.2026 | 3-2 |
Jeonbuk Motors' equivalent sample, mostly K League fixtures with a couple of continental and cup games mixed in, shows 6 wins, 9 draws and 5 losses from 20, with 23 scored and 20 conceded. That's a lot of draws for one run, and it points to a side that's been hard to beat but also hard to put away.
Kobe's win rate is notably higher, but Jeonbuk's draw habit means they rarely lose either.
Comparative Team Statistics: Vissel Kobe vs Jeonbuk Motors
One meeting, and it went Jeonbuk's way
These two have only met once in the data available, back in August 2022 in the AFC Champions League, when Jeonbuk won 3-1 away at Vissel Kobe. That's four years old now and came from a different squad era for both clubs, so it shouldn't carry much weight on its own.
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Champions League | Vissel Kobe | Jeonbuk Motors | 22.08.2022 | 1-3 |
Level at the top of the group so far
After one game each in this campaign, both sides sit on 3 points with identical goal difference, having won 2-1. Kobe are placed fifth and Jeonbuk sixth, but with the sample this small that's a fine margin rather than a real gap.
| № | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF/GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Region | |||||||
| 1 | Kashima | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7/1 | 3 |
| 2 | Gamba Osaka | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4/1 | 3 |
| 3 | SHANGHAI SIPG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6/4 | 3 |
| 4 | Beijing Guoan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3/1 | 3 |
| 5 | Vissel Kobe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2/1 | 3 |
| 6 | Jeonbuk Motors | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2/1 | 3 |
| 7 | Daejeon Citizen | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1/0 | 3 |
| 8 | Johor Darul Takzim FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 1 |
| 9 | Buriram United | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 1 |
| 10 | Kashiwa Reysol | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/2 | 0 |
| 11 | Port FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/2 | 0 |
| 12 | Kyoto Sanga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 0 |
| 13 | Ratchaburi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4/6 | 0 |
| 14 | Pohang Steelers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 0 |
| 15 | Công An Nhân Dân | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/4 | 0 |
| 16 | Newcastle Jets | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/7 | 0 |
Early contributors in the group stage
Italo has been Jeonbuk's scorer in their opening group game, while Y. Osako picked up an assist for Kobe in theirs. Both are useful markers of who's been involved in the early goals, though it's only one match of data for each and doesn't tell us much about the wider squad.
Squad lists and player details
Squad and player details
| Name | Country | Age | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. Inui | Japan | 38 | Midfielder | 169 | 63 |
| Erik | Brazil | 32 | Attacker | 170 | 68 |
| Matheus Thuler | Brazil | 27 | Defender | 186 | 86 |
| Y. Muto | Japan | 34 | Attacker | 179 | 72 |
| G. Sakai | Japan | 35 | Defender | 176 | 74 |
| Y. Ideguchi | Japan | 30 | Midfielder | 171 | 71 |
| Y. Osako | Japan | 36 | Attacker | 184 | 75 |
| S. Arai | Japan | 37 | Goalkeeper | 185 | 85 |
| R. Hirose | Japan | 31 | Defender | 176 | 68 |
| T. Ohgihara | Japan | 35 | Midfielder | 185 | 74 |
| T. Iwanami | Japan | 32 | Defender | 186 | 72 |
| D. Maekawa | Japan | 32 | Goalkeeper | 191 | 86 |
| Y. Goke | Japan | 27 | Midfielder | 183 cm | 74 kg |
| K. Yamauchi | Japan | 24 | Midfielder | 177 | 74 |
| K. Nagato | Japan | 31 | Defender | 173 | 72 |
| B. Nduka | Japan | 30 | Defender | 183 | 89 |
| H. Ide | Japan | 32 | Midfielder | 171 | 66 |
| I. Takahashi | Japan | 28 | Defender | 180 cm | 71 kg |
| R. Komatsu | Japan | 28 | Attacker | 183 | 77 |
| Diego | Brazil | 31 | Midfielder | 183 | 77 |
| Name | Country | Age | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Ji-Soo | Korea Republic | 32 | Defender | 187 | 77 |
| Lee Seung-Woo | Korea Republic | 28 | Midfielder | 173 | 65 |
| Bruno Mota | Brazil | 30 | Attacker | 193 | 87 |
| Kim Jin-Gyu | Korea Republic | 29 | Midfielder | 177 | 68 |
| Lee Dong-Jun | Korea Republic | 29 | Midfielder | 173 | 64 |
| Maeng Seong-Ung | Korea Republic | 28 | Midfielder | 183 | 80 |
| Kim Seung-Sub | Korea Republic | 29 | Attacker | 178 | 72 |
| Song Bum-Keun | Korea Republic | 28 | Goalkeeper | 196 | 93 |
| Kim Tae-Hwan | Korea Republic | 37 | Defender | 177 | 72 |
| Kim Young-Bin | Korea Republic | 35 | Defender | 184 | 79 |
| Yeon Je-Un | Korea Republic | 32 | Defender | 185 | 78 |
| Lee Yeong-Jae | Korea Republic | 32 | Midfielder | 175 | 66 |
| João Gamboa | Portugal | 30 | Midfielder | 187 | 80 |
| Kim Tae-Hyun | Korea Republic | 29 | Defender | 173 | 66 |
| G. Paulauskas | Lithuania | 27 | Attacker | n/a | n/a |
| Tiago Orobó | Brazil | 32 | Attacker | 188 | 75 |
| Oberdan | Brazil | 31 | Midfielder | 175 | 69 |
| Lee Ju-Hyun | Korea Republic | 27 | Goalkeeper | n/a | n/a |
| Dodozinho | Brazil | 25 | Midfielder | 170 | 67 |
| Cho Wi-Je | Korea Republic | 25 | Defender | n/a | n/a |
Put together, this doesn't give us a clear lean. Kobe arrive with the better recent numbers, but Jeonbuk's tendency to grind out draws rather than lose makes them awkward opponents, and the one previous meeting between these clubs is too old and too isolated to build a case on.
With the group table also showing nothing between them after one round, we're not seeing a strong enough angle to back a specific outcome here. Best to sit this one out rather than force a selection.
Who will win?
