Gamba Osaka and Cerezo Osaka will renew their city rivalry in the Osaka derby in the J League Cup on Wednesday.
The hosts kickstarted their J1 League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Kashima Antlers on Saturday. Ayase Ueda scored a brace to help the visitors leave the Panasonic Stadium with all three points.
Cerezo Osaka shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw away to Yokohama F. Marinos on the same day. Hiyotashi Kiyotake scored a last-gasp equalizer to help his side snatch a point at the death in injury time.
They will both turn their attention to the domestic cup competition where they will be looking to kickstart the tournament on a positive note.
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka Head-to-Head
The two sides have met on 64 occasions and Gamba Osaka have been historically superior with 28 wins to their name.
Cerezo Osaka were victorious on 23 occasions while 13 matches in the past ended in a share of the spoils.
Their most recent meeting came in the quarterfinals of the 2021 J League Cup, when Cerezo ran riot in a 4-0 victory to secure a 4-1 aggregate win.
Gamba Osaka form guide (league): L
Cerezo Osaka form guide (league): D
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka Team News
Gamba Osaka
Jun Ichimori is still sidelined with an injury while Patric is suspended due to the red card he received against Kashima Antlers.
Injury: Jun Ichimori
Suspension: Patric
Cerezo Osaka
Hinata Kida and Tatsuya Yamashita are both unavailable due to injuries.
Injuries: Hinata Kida, Tatsuya Yamashita
Suspension: None
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI
Gamba Osaka Predicted XI (3-4-3): Kei Ishikawa (GK); Ko Yanagisawa, Gen Shoji, Ryu Takao; Keisuke Kurokawa, Shu Kurata, Se-Jong Ju, Kosuke Onose; Takashi Usami, Hideki Ishige, Leandro Pereira
Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI (4-4-2): Jin-Hyeon Kim (GK); Yusuke Maruhashi, Ryuya Nishio, Ryosuke Shindo, Riku Matsuda; Takashi Inui, Riki Harakawa, Hiroaki Okuno, Hiroshi Kiyotake; Matsuki Kato, Bruno Mendes
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka Prediction
The fact that this is a city derby means both sides will go all out for victory to gain city bragging rights.
The hosts will be keen to get back to winning ways following their disappointing start to league action. There is little to choose from between the two sides as they are almost equally matched across the board and we are backing the spoils to be shared in a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Gamba Osaka 1-1 Cerezo Osaka