Both looking to keep their unlikely pushes for AFC Champions League qualification alive, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Avispa Fukuoka will meet at Edion Peace Wing Stadium for a J1 League clash on Sunday night.
Viola head into this meeting following a handsome success over lower league opposition in the Japanese Cup, whilst the Hornets will be aiming to make amends for defeat last time out.
Match preview
Following a three-game winless run in the J1 League - during which just two points were collected from matches against Albirex Niigata, Kawasaki Frontale and Vissel Kobe - Sanfrecce Hiroshima returned to victorious ways on Wednesday night, enjoying a 4-0 thrashing of Iwaki FC.
After a frustrating and goalless first period, Viola turned on their top-tier style in the second period, with a brace from Sho Sasaki, alongside strikes from Yuki Ohashi and Marcos Junior, securing their side's spot in the fourth-round draw at the expense of the second-tier visitors.
Winning just one of their last five in the J1 League over the past month, Sanfrecce have slipped to seventh position in the top-flight standings, seven points behind second-placed Kashima Antlers, who have enjoyed back-to-back successes across all competitions over the past week.
With the pace at the top of the division unrelenting, Michael Skibbe's troops need to string together a run of results in order to return to the continental stage once again, but Viola have only won consecutive matches on two occasions so far during the 2024 league schedule.
After a run of six wins and one draw in seven matches across the J1 League and Japanese Cup, Avispa have started their July schedule on a sour note, losing back-to-back matches for the first time since May and exiting the cup at the third-round stage to second-tier opponents.
The Hornets welcomed Ehime to Best Denki Stadium on Wednesday night and were surprised by the power of the visitors, with second-half goals from Shuma Mihara and Yuta Fujihara condemning the top-tier hosts to an embarrassing defeat that ended their dreams of doubling their number of major honours following 2023's League Cup triumph.
Excluding a blip over the past seven days, Avispa have been very impressive during the 2024 term and have moved themselves up into AFC Champions League contention, with Sunday's visitors to Hiroshima sitting sixth currently, only six points behind the top-two positions.
Playing football in Ukraine, Hungary and Iran since the turn of the decade, Shahab Zahedi's next stop on a nomadic career has been the J1 League this year, with the 28-year-old bagging seven goals in 17 league fixtures, meaning that he leads his club's Golden Boot race.
Team News
Sanfrecce remain without the services of midfielder Takumu Kawamura, who suffered ligament damage last month and is not expected back until September.
Viola could make a number of alterations from the side which lost to Vissel Kobe in their most recent league fixture, with the likes of Ezequiel and Douglas Vieira pushing for starts.
Forced off after 26 minutes during the defeat to Kyoto Sanga, 36-year-old Wellington is not expected to lead the line for Avispa on Sunday afternoon.
As a result, the visitors will need to select a new man to provide a focal point for their attack, with seven-goal Zahedi the most obvious candidate.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima possible starting lineup:
Osako; Shiotani, Nakano, Sasaki; Arai, Mitsuta, Matsumoto, Higashi; Ohashi, Kato; Sotiriou
Avispa Fukuoka possible starting lineup:
Murakami; Grolli, Tashiro, Miya; Oda, Matsuoka, Mae, Iwasaki; Konno, Shigemi; Zahedi
We say: Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 Avispa Fukuoka
Following a morale-boosting win in the cup, Sanfrecce should be confident of repeating the trick this weekend, despite facing a step-up in quality.
Avispa will be happy to be on the road after back-to-back home defeats, but we do not believe that things will get immediately better for the visitors on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
