Vissel Kobe vs Tottenham Hotspur Prediction: Japanese outfit is handed crucial playing time

Vissel Kobe will host Tottenham Hotspur at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe in the Club Friendlies. The Japanese outfit is handed crucial playing time amidst the season. Who will come out on top at the end of 90 minutes?

The 2024 season of Vissel Kobe is underway, and J1 League champions sit in the fourth position, seven points adrift of the team at the top, Machida Zelvia.

With an average of 1.75 points per game presently, and 14 matches left in the season, it is lower than the average 2.09 maintained in the 2023 season.

They have scored 37 and conceded 21, fielding both the fourth-best offense and third-strongest defense in the league so far.

Since taking over as manager in June 2022, a player for Vissel Kobe himself between 2008 and 2013, Takayuki Yoshida has led the team from far-afield from that 13th-place finish in 2022 to the championship last time out in 2023.

Maekawa; Hirose, Yamakawa, Thuler, Hatsuse; Ideguchi, Ogihara, Sasaki; Muto, Osako, Patric

Though Spurs played two warm-up games, their tour of Asia gets underway this Saturday finally, before facing off with K-League Allstars on July 31.

Tottenham enjoyed an opening fine to life under the new management of Ange Postecoglou, winning eight of the first ten Premier League games while drawing the remainder.

This impressive early form led some to believe Spurs might be title contenders before injuries to key players, most notably James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, allied to under-par performances from others, quickly stalled their momentum.

Postecoglou's squad ended the campaign with five defeats in their last seven matches but, still, there seems to be optimism from fans for the up-and-coming season.

Under the Australian manager, Spurs have been known to provide entertainment and quite often breathtaking style of play. With ambitious targets like Archie Gray, described as a talent with great potential, the case to see Spurs improve on last season's performance is strong.

Austin; Porro, Skipp, Dragusin, Donley; Kulusevski, Gray, Bissouma; Maddison, Son, Werner

So far, Postecoglou has named fairly strong starting lineups for Tottenham's pre-season friendlies, so again on Saturday, there should be enough quality in the team to see off opponents. Moreover, Dragusin could provide extra defensive depth and further fortify midfield if Gray is deployed centrally.