Aiming to stay within touching distance of the J1 League leaders, third-placed Gamba Osaka take on 12th-placed Yokohama F Marinos at the Nishigaoka National Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts failed to move into pole position as they were defeated by first-placed Machida Zelvia in their last outing, while the visitors are aiming to end a three-game losing streak in the league.
Match preview
Since finishing second in 2020, Gamba Osaka have found themselves battling for their survival in the top flight in the following seasons with 13th, 15th and 16th placed finishes.
In this campaign, however, there has been a remarkable improvement from Dani Poyatos's side as they are currently embroiled in a fight for their first league title since 2014.
The hosts failed to capitalise on their chance to move to the top of the table when they faced up against league leaders Machida Zelvia in their last outing, falling to a 3-1 defeat and they now trail top spot by five points.
That defeat was their first in the league since back-to-back losses against Kashima Antlers and Avispa Fukuoka in late April and early May, bringing an end to a run of 10 matches unbeaten across all competitions.
Gamba Osaka have taken a brilliant 22 points from their 10 home fixtures in 2024, the joint-highest tally alongside Kashima Antlers and Cerezo Osaka, who have played a game more, something that should leave them with plenty of confidence heading into this one.
As for Yokohama, their underwhelming campaign continued with a third consecutive defeat in their last game as they lost 1-0 to relegation-battling Sagan Tosu.
That defeat marked their ninth of the year, already surpassing the total losses from each of the past three seasons, and with difficult matches against Gamba Osaka, Kashima Antlers, Machida Zelvia and Vissel Kobe in their next five, the prospect of further losses looms large.
After three consecutive top-two finishes in the last three seasons, Harry Kewell will be extremely disappointed with how his first year is unfolding, as his side look destined for a mid-table finish at best.
Yokohama will be hoping they can replicate their impressive results in recent times against Saturday's opponents, having won four of the last five meetings between these two sides.
Gamba Osaka J1 League form:
Yokohama F Marinos J1 League form:
Team News
Riku Handa's red card in the last game turned the tide against the hosts, who went from leading 1-0 to losing 3-1, and the suspended defender is expected to be replaced by Riku Matsuda here.
Top scorer Takashi Usami has scored seven times in 21 appearances for the hosts and is expected to feature with Welton, Ryoya Yamashita alongside him in this one.
Despite falling to defeat in all of their last three, Yokohama have been dominant in all of the matches and Kewell could opt to stay faithful with the same lineup in this game.
Anderson Lopes has scored an impressive 12 goals in 20 league outings this season and the Brazilian will be relied upon for goals once again in this one.
Gamba Osaka possible starting lineup:
Ichimori; Matsuda, Nakatani, Egawa, Kurokawa; Dawhan, Suzuki; Yamashita, Usami, Welton; Jebali
Yokohama F Marinos possible starting lineup:
Popp; Matsubara, Kamijima, Eduardo, Kato; Amano, Kida, Watanabe; Matheus, Lopes, Miyaichi
We say: Gamba Osaka 2-1 Yokohama F Marinos
Gamba Osaka have shown their impressive quality throughout this season and with Yokohama struggling, especially in recent times with three consecutive losses, we expect the hosts to win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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