Last Year's Runners-Up Kashiwa Face Kawasaki Again; Yokohama FM Seek Revenge Against Kashima [Preview: Levain Cup Quarter-finals First Leg]

The first legs of all four quarter-final ties in the 2026/27 J.League Yamazaki Biscuits Levain Cup will be played on 11 November.

Kawasaki Frontale host Kashiwa Reysol just four days after losing 2-1 to them in the league. Kawasaki cruised past Tosu 2-0 in Round 4 and will be determined to avenge that recent defeat. In-form Marcinho will again be a key attacking threat as they look to gain the upper hand.

Kashiwa, meanwhile, finished runners-up last year after losing to Hiroshima in the final and will be looking to make amends this time around. They edged Gamba Osaka 5-4 after extra time in Round 4 to reach the quarter-finals. Hinata Yamauchi scored twice against his former club Kawasaki in their recent league meeting and will be hoping to make another decisive contribution.

Yokohama F. Marinos welcome Kashima after knocking out defending champions Hiroshima with a 4-3 victory in Round 4. They are also unbeaten in their last 10 league matches and will look to carry that form into the cup. Having lost to Kashima on the opening weekend of the league season, they will be eager to avenge that defeat and take an advantage into the second leg.

Kashima, who enter the competition at the quarter-final stage, have struggled for consistency in the league and lost 2-0 to FC Tokyo last time out. Leo Ceara and Cavric both scored twice against Yokohama F. Marinos in the league opener and will be looking to make a similar impact in the cup.

Kobe also enter the competition at the quarter-final stage and host Machida. They rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw against Urawa in the league on 8 November, with Yoshinori Muto scoring both goals, including a stoppage-time equaliser. He will again be central to their attacking hopes.

Machida reached the quarter-finals by beating Kyoto on penalties in Round 4. They have kept six consecutive clean sheets in the league, but their last three matches have all ended in goalless draws, including their meeting with Kobe on 24 October. With goals proving hard to come by, they will also be without three key attacking players — Koki Ogawa, Yuki Soma and Tete Yengi — due to international duty. Takuma Nishimura and the other attacking players will need to step up in their absence.

Urawa welcome Cerezo Osaka, having beaten Nagoya 2-1 after extra time in Round 4. In their most recent league match, they conceded a stoppage-time equaliser against Kobe and had to settle for a draw. Seeing out matches will be a key area to address as they look to take an advantage into the second leg.

Cerezo, meanwhile, advanced with a comfortable win over Mito in Round 4. They also returned to winning ways in the league last weekend, beating Gamba Osaka in the Osaka derby to claim their first victory in nine matches. With signs of improvement emerging, Pablo Sabbag, who is beginning to find his feet, will be looking to build on that progress and help Cerezo maintain their momentum.