With an impressive 9-1-1 record, the Urawa Reds are the hottest team in the J.League.

Their one loss was against F.C. Tokyo, and the stage is set as the two clubs will battle this afternoon for the Nabisco Cup title.

``We're the only club that can defeat the Urawa Reds,'' said F.C. Tokyo head coach Hiromi Hara after the Nabisco Cup semifinals. ``We're not afraid of them.''

F.C. Tokyo defeated Urawa 1-0 on Sept. 23 during the second stage of the regular season. Hara said his team can beat the Reds again, but he knows it will be tough.

``The Reds are powerful on attack and they always win by large margins,'' Hara said. ``They haven't had too many close games this season.''

Hara was the Urawa head coach for 1 years, so he knows what it will take to beat them.

``If we can hang on in the first half and not allow them to score, then we should be able to come out in the second half and have enough chances to win,'' he said.

Since being promoted to J1 in 2000, F.C. Tokyo hasn't won any titles, and their players are hungry.

``I've never had a chance to be on a No. 1 team since I started playing soccer as a kid,'' said midfielder Yasuyuki Konno. ``I'm really looking forward to this. Hopefully we'll win the title.''

Midfielder Naohiro Ishikawa added: ``We missed a few chances in recent years, but we're now in the closest position to get the title. It will be hard because Urawa has some good Olympic team members like Tatsuya Tanaka and Marcus Tulio Tanaka.''

The Reds won the Nabisco Cup last year and have been a Nabisco finalist for three consecutive years, making them clearly favored to repeat.

Expect F.C. Tokyo to come out playing tough defense from the opening whistle. If they can keep the game a scoreless draw at halftime, Hara will likely send in substitutes in the second half and try to get on the scoreboard.

Urawa's Tulio expects nothing less than a hard-fought match, and said he'll have something to say about it if it isn't.

``I hope they (F.C. Tokyo) will be aggressive,'' he told a sports daily early this week. ``The game we lost to them was our worst game this season. If F.C. Tokyo sits back in defense and doesn't challenge us I'll be angry. I'll be sure and give their players an earful if that happens.''

Reds head coach Guido Buchwald told reporters at a Tuesday news conference that he expects F.C. Tokyo to bring their best game.

``They are struggling in the middle of the J.League table, but F.C. Tokyo has been playing good football,'' he said. ``They deserve to be in this title game, but we have prepared well, too.''

The Reds' Tatsuya Tanaka isn't worried.

``If we play our usual game tomorrow, we'll be champions,'' he said.

The Nabisco Cup final kicks off today at a sold-out National Stadium at 2:07 p.m.(IHT/Asahi: November 3,2004)