With five match days left in the J-League the title race has broken up slightly with the Kashima Antlers holding a narrow lead over Ōita and Nagoya. If there is one thing we've since the summer is that each week we'll see a number of upsets, JEF United will shock everyone (hence not a shock) and no-one can predict the Kashima Antlers attack.

However the Antlers are in the drivers seat although of the top six clubs, they have the toughest match of all, against FC Tokyo. Gamba's glory of defeating the Red Diamonds in the semi-final of the AFC Champions League must be pushed aside quickly if they are to qualify for next years tournament. They have a tough test against Shimizu S-Pulse who seriously harmed Kawasaki Frontale's title hopes last week with a 2-0 defeat after detonating FC Tokyo 5-1 the week before.

Saturday
Yokohama F. Marinos @ Kashiwa Reysol
Jubilo Iwata @ Nagoya Grampus Eight
Tokyo Verdy 1969 @ Kyoto Purple Sanga
Oita Trinita @ Vissel Kobe

Sunday
Gamba Osaka @ Shimizu S-Pulse
Urawa Red Diamonds @ Albirex Niigata
Kashima Antlers @ FC Tokyo
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba @ Omiya Ardija
Consadole Sapporo @ Kawasaki Frontale

All match days are reported as local. I will provide a complete wrap-up after the the final match on Sunday.

J-League week 28	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	Pts
Kashima Antlers 鹿島アントラーズ	29	15	8	6	51	27	53
Nagoya Grampus 名古屋グランパス	29	15	6	8	41	30	51
Oita Trinita 大分トリニータ	29	15	6	8	31	22	51
Kawasaki Frontale 川崎フロンターレ	29	14	6	9	51	39	48
Urawa Red Diamonds 浦和レッズ	29	13	8	8	45	32	47
Gamba Osaka ガンバ大阪	29	13	8	8	41	36	47
FC Tokyo ＦＣ東京	29	13	6	10	40	38	45
Shimizu S-Pulse 清水エスパルス	29	12	7	10	39	36	43
Vissel Kobe ヴィッセル神戸	29	10	10	9	35	31	40
Kashiwa Reysol 柏レイソル	29	11	6	12	40	36	39
Albirex Niigata アルビレックス新潟	29	10	7	12	27	40	37
Yokohama F Marinos 横浜Ｆ・マリノス	29	9	9	11	28	27	36
Kyoto Purple Sanga 京都サンガF.C.	29	10	6	13	30	38	36
Tokyo Verdy 1969	29	10	5	14	37	43	35
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba ジェフユナイテッド千葉	29	9	7	13	29	43	34
Jubilo Iwata ジュビロ磐田	29	9	5	15	36	43	32
Omiya Ardija 大宮アルディージャ	29	9	5	15	28	40	32
Consadole Sapporo コンサドーレ札幌	29	4	5	20	32	60	17