This year’s Shimizu S-Pulse adopted a more attacking style of football under former Yokohama F.Marinos’ assistant coach Peter Cklamovski. They took the lead in the opening match, but conceded goals toward the end of the game and ended up losing 3-1 to FC Tokyo. Still, a few good moments of the new manager’s football could be spotted, and now they had time to work on the new tactics during the break. New signing Teerasil Dangda already scored his first goal on the opening day, and the team could gain big momentum if they get the first three points of the season.

Nagoya Grampus drew 1-1 against Vegalta Sendai on the first match-day of 2020. New signing Hiroyuki Abe scored the equalizer, and they were the dominant side for the rest of the game. Under Massimo Ficcadenti, who took charge during the past season and helped the team avoid relegation, Nagoya are this year adopting a more aggressive kind of football. Since Brazilian striker Jô left during the break, other attackers will have to step up.