Yokohama F Marinos clash with Sagan Tosu at the NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium on Wednesday, each side eager to capitalise on their game in hand over the rest of the J1 League.
The hosts are currently 12th and could narrow the gap to the top half to just one point with a win, while the visitors are in desperate need of a result as they sit in the relegation zone, albeit they are only a point away from safety.
Match preview
Having finished in the top two in each of the last three seasons, including a title-winning campaign in 2022, Yokohama will be extremely disappointed with how the first half of this year has played out.
After 20 matches, Harry Kewell's men sit 12th in the division with fewer wins than losses and back-to-back defeats in their last two outings leave them in danger of not finishing in the top half altogether.
A disappointing loss to 10th-placed Tokyo Verdy in their last match, despite being the dominant side, has left them trailing the top 10 by four points, making this game crucial for Kewell's hopes of steering his side away from a first bottom-half finish since 2018.
While scoring goals has not been the problem for Yokohama, netting 31 times in 20 matches, their defence has been a point of concern with only six teams conceding more than their 30 goals.
They have already lost on more occasions at home this campaign than in each of the last three years, but they should be confident of securing a result against a Sagan Tosu side that have just one away win all season.
The visitors come into this game with just one victory across their last six league matches, a vital 3-0 win over relegation rivals Kyoto Sanga, leaving them 18th in the table.
At least a point for Sagan Tosu would see them climb back out of the relegation zone on goal difference, but an away record that has seen them pick up just four of their 17 points on the road is unlikely to give them much confidence in securing a result.
Kenta Kawai's men will have to address their poor defensive record if they are to continue their current 12-year stay in the division, with only three teams conceding more than their 35 goals until this point.
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Team News
Taiki Watanabe, Tae-Hee Nam and Katsuya Nagato have all picked up injuries in recent weeks that have kept them out of the side, and all three are not expected to feature here.
Anderson Lopes has scored 12 of their 31 league goals this season and is expected to spearhead a front three alongside Yan Matheus and Ryo Miyaichi in this one.
Marcelo Ryan has been a bright spark in a dismal season for Sagan Tosu with the Brazilian netting 10 times in 20 league appearances, and the striker is sure to start this game.
After a disappointing 4-1 defeat in their previous outing, Kawai may opt to revert back to the side that impressed in the eventual defeat to fifth-placed Cerezo Osaka a week ago.
Yokohama F Marinos possible starting lineup:
Popp; Matsubara, Kamijima, Eduardo, Kato; Amano, Kida, Watanabe; Matheus, Lopes, Miyaichi
Sagan Tosu possible starting lineup:
Il-Kyu; Harada, Yamazaki, Kimura, Ueebisu; Kawahara, Tezuka; Naganuma, Kikuchi, Yokoyama; Ryan
We say: Yokohama F Marinos 1-0 Sagan Tosu
While both sides enter into this game in bad form, having suffered back-to-back defeats in their last two matches, the hosts have not lost in a meeting with Sagan Tosu since 2018.
The visitors have also picked up just one away victory so far this campaign, leading us to believe the hosts will secure the victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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