Machida Zelvia surprised everyone this season as a newly promoted team. Their performance is very good, especially the back line.

Up to the 30th week of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Machida Zelvia is at the top of the J1 League standings with eight matches remaining.

Not only that, Machida Zelvia also made a good record by becoming the team that conceded the fewest goals this season.

They have only conceded 22 goals, or 0.7 goals per match.

Teams Conceding the Fewest Goals in J1 League:
1. Machida Zelvia – 22 Goals
2. Gamba Osaka – 23 Goals
3. Vissel Kobe – 28 Goals
4. Sanfrecce Hiroshima – 30 Goals
5. Avispa Fukuoka – 33 Goals

*until week 30

Throughout the season, Kosei Tani as the main goalkeeper did not concede in 14 matches, or 46 percent of Machida Zelvia’s total matches.

This record is also the most clean sheets among all goalkeepers in the J1 League this season.

Most clean sheets in the J1 League:
1. Kosei Tani (Machida Zelvia) – 14 matches
2. Jun Ichimori (Gamba Osaka) – 12 matches
3. Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) – 11 matches
4. Daiya Maekawa (Vissel Kobe) – 10 Match
5. Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers) & Matheus Vidotto (Tokyo Verdy) – 9 Games

*until week 30

Mainstay Composition in Machida Zelvia’s Defense

The four-defender formation is the formation chosen by coach Go Kuroda and has become Machida Zelvia’s mainstay this season.

Judging from the number of matches this season, Go Kuroda has mostly fielded Kosei Tani in the goalkeeper position, and the back line quartet of Junya Suzuki, Gen Shoji, Ibrahim Dresevic, and Kotaro Hayashi.

Apart from that, there are also names like Daiki Sugioka, Henry Meroki Mochizuki, Jang Min-gyu, and Yuta Nakayama.

Will this tight defense bring Machida Zelvia to win the J1 League this season?