Brisbane's potent attack has produced nine goals in its last four A-League games, but Roar coach Frans Thijssen has no doubts that his back four will be under extreme pressure from the speedy and desperate Japanese.
Like the Roar, Urawa lost its opening ACL Group G encounter after conceding two second-half goals in a 2-1 away loss to Suwon Blue Wings.
The Red Diamonds squad has been strengthened by the addition of Slovenian striker Zlatan Ljubijankic, who came off the bench mid-way through the second half in the Japanese Super Cup and nearly scored two minutes later with a glancing header.
There is expectation in Japan that Ljubijankic will start against Brisbane, which will only add to the pressure on the Roar defence.
“They will continually try and get behind us. We will have to be disciplinedand and not let their attackers get too much room,” Thijssen said, when the Roar landed in Japan after flying overnight from Perth.
The coach is set to shuffle his backline, as part of the club's player rotation policy that is designed steer the squad through an unprecedented month of matches.
Experienced defender Shane Stefanutto, who wasn’t in the squad for the Perth Glory game, is tipped to come into the starting line-up, while Jack Hingert is expected to play right-back as he did in the opening ACL match against Beijing Guoan.
But it is in the heart of defence that Thijssen is undecided, with James Donachie, Jade North and Luke DeVere all vying for the two centre-back roles.
“They are all good, strong, tall players who do a very good job for us. It’s a decision we will consider closely over the next 24 hours,” Thijssen said.
“But they all know each other’s games now. It is a good position to be in to have a number of combinations we could pick.”
North believes the defenders contriubtion should not be underestimated in the Roar's rotation system.
“All the defenders are good players who will do the job wherever they are selected, but we all have our own strengths and weaknesses," the Brisbane defender said.
“We have to be aware of those each time the backline changes.”
Stefanutto revealed that the changes added to the extra mental preparation the Roar defenders are shouldering under the current heavy match workload.
“As well as concentrating on our opponents we also have to be very mindful of our defensive partners and making sure we are not just four defenders across the back but that we combine as a unit in defence and going forward,” he said.
Urawa's club officials are expeting a crowd of close to 10,000 for Wednesday night's match.
