Strong in attack, weak in defense

A great start for H.Moriyasu on Japan's bench after World Cup 2018. 'Samurai' have already registered 3 wins in 3 friendly games, proving that they can be one of the favorites at the upcoming Asian Cup in 2019. Their most recent win was against Uruguay in Saitama (4-3) in October, where they showed all their attacking talent but also their defensive problems. Experienced E.Kawashima (goalkeeper), Y.Nagatomo (defender) and S.Okazaki (attacker) won't perform tonight.

Venezuela got the last place in the qualification group of South America and so they didn't participate in World Cup 2018. R.Dudamel is still on team's bench and want to make the right moves for his team to have a successful journey in Copa America 2019 in Brazil.  In their most recent friendly game, they performed well and won 2-0 against UAE in Spain. The stars of the team, S.Rondon and T.Rincon will perform tonight, in contrast to A.Gonzalez who is a very important defenfer but unfortunately injured. 

Japan seem to be on a good momentum and have the advantage of home. As long as H.Moriyasu is on team's bench, they score with ease (10 goals in 3 games) while they have to solve their defensive problems at the same time. I expect goals and I believe that Venezuela's role in this is important. Over 2.5 goals will be my call.