Urawa Reds made history by winning the AFC Champions League for a Japanese record third time, but now they are back in MeijI Yasuda J1 League play and are hoping to carry over the same form that made them Asian champions. This weekend, that means taking on Gamba Osaka on Sunday at 4 pm JST in a match that will be streamed live on the J.League International YouTube channel.

The Reds had a couple weeks off of league contests so they could play in the Champions League final, which was wildly successful. Unfortunately for Urawa, their return to J1 action was not successful, as they lost to Sagan Tosu midweek. Now they turn their attention to Gamba, where they will hope to show their Asian form.

With the Scandinavian back line of Alexander Scholz and Marius Høibråten, Urawa have a great defense to lean on. They just need to give the attack a little jolt and they can be among the top teams in the league. The Reds currently sit in eighth place, but have two matches in hand and are only six points off third place.

Gamba are not so interested in the upper reaches of the table, though. They have only one win this season and are second from the bottom so they are primarily interested in finding their way up a few spots. Their defense has struggled, but if they can lock things up at the back, they can take a crucial three points from Urawa and put some space between them and the bottom.

The J.League announced that up to four matches will be streamed live each week for the 2023 season, bringing one of Asia’s top league’s to fans around the world. The streams will be free to view on the J.League International YouTube channel in any country that does not have an existing rights agreement.