Nagoya Grampus will be looking to return to winning ways in gameweek 23 of the J1 League when they take on Kashiwa Reysol at the Toyota Stadium on Sunday morning.
The hosts are on 27 points after 22 matches and slipped to 12th in the league standings last weekend, overtaken by the visitors who are now on 29 points over the same period.
Match preview
After finishing in sixth place in the top flight last season, Nagoya Grampus would likely have been aiming to improve on that finish and challenge for a top-three spot this term.
However, things have not gone according to plan, as they enter gameweek 23 closer to the drop zone than the league leaders, currently just six points above the dotted line and 14 below third-placed Gamba Osaka.
Grampus continued their freefall last week, losing 1-0 to Machida Zelvia, marking their fourth consecutive defeat and third match without scoring during that time. They have now failed to win a match since the start of June (W0 D1 L5).
At home, Kenta Hasegawa's side are winless in their last three league games, and their tally of 12 points from 11 matches this season is the fifth-worst in the division. Additionally, the hosts have scored just nine goals on their home patch - the fewest of any side in the top flight.
Despite their struggles of late, though, Grampus have had success against this opponent this season. These two have already crossed paths three times in the league and cup this term and the hosts are unbeaten with two wins and a draw.
Meanwhile, after a shocking 2023 season, during which they recorded a league-high 15 draws, Kashiwa Reysol will be relatively pleased with their performance in this campaign, comfortably set in mid-table, six places above the bottom three.
The Sun Kings also booked their spot in the fourth round of the Emperor's Cup where they will face Vissel Kobe by overcoming Tsukuba University 2-1 in extra time in midweek.
In league terms, Reysol are looking to extend a three-match unbeaten run, during which they won back-to-back games for just the third time this season. They have not won three in a row in 2024 as yet.
Notably, Masami Ihara's side are also on their best scoring run of the season with 10 goals in the last three games, which is already more than half of the 17 they managed in the first 19 games of the campaign.
On the road, the visitors have earned 14 points from a possible 33 and have won only one of their last nine outings, which came against relegation candidates Sagan Tosu at the end of last month.
Team News
Kyota Sakakibara was withdrawn at the break against Machida Zelvia last weekend, which may suggest that veteran Kensuke Nagai will return to the attack from the start of this match.
In terms of absentees, Akinari Kawazura, Ryuji Izumi and Kasper Junker are ruled out with hamstring injuries, while Masahito Ono is facing an extended period on the sideline due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Having scored twice from off the bench against Sagan Tosu at the end of last month and the opener in the Emperor's Cup in midweek, Kosuke Kinoshita could be given the nod to start this weekend.
Hidetaka Maie has not featured at all this season and is expected to remain out for the foreseeable future having undergone knee surgery, while Tomoya Inukai has now missed nine games with a hamstring injury and is flagged as a major doubt for this one as well.
Nagoya Grampus possible starting lineup:
Langerak; Inagaki, Ha, Nogami; Kubo, Morishima, Shiihashi, Uchida; Nagai, Nakayama, Yamagishi
Kashiwa Reysol possible starting lineup:
Matsumoto; Sekine, Noda, Koga, Rodrigues; Shirai, Takamine, Savio, Kinoshita; Hosoya, Koyamatsu
We say: Nagoya Grampus 1-1 Kashiwa Reysol
Nagoya Grampus have been tumbling in the league standings in recent weeks but will see this as a genuine opportunity to snap out of their funk. However, the visitors are in a good bit of form right now and will also feel that they can take something from this match given their opponents' recent performances.
There is very little to separate these sides in the league standings at present and we feel there will be nothing to separate them at the full-time whistle in this match as well.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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