Gamba Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol will battle for three points in the J1 League on Sunday.
The home side come into the game on the back of a 4-1 victory over Shonan Bellmare on the same ground in the Emperor's Cup. Patric scored in either half to start and complete his side's scoring before Sosuke Shibata scored a consolation goal in the 64th minute.
Kashiwa Reysol suffered a 3-0 defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima on home turf last Saturday and Douglas Vieira was the star of the show with a hat-trick for the visitors.
Only three points separates Sunday's opponents in the table, and they will go all out for maximum points. Kashiwa Reysol are the better-placed side in 13th place on 33 points while Gamba Osaka are directly below them.
Gamba Osaka vs Kashiwa Reysol Head-to-Head
Gamba Osaka have 14 wins from their last 33 matches against Kashiwa Reysol. The visitors have 17 victories to their name while the spoils were shared on two occasions.
Their most recent meeting came in April, when Hidekazu Otani's 76th minute goal gave Kashiwa Reysol a narrow 1-0 victory on home turf.
Osaka's victory over Bellmare halted a run of three successive defeats across all competitions while Reysol's loss halted a run of three successive wins in the league.
Gamba Osaka form guide (all competitions): W-L-L-L-W
Kashiwa Reysol form guide 9all competitions): L-W-W-W-L
Gamba Osaka vs Kashiwa Reysol Team News
Gamba Osaka
Haruto Shirai (cruciate ligament) and Jun Ichimori (hamstring) are both long-term injury absentees. Leandro Pereira and Yuji Ono recently joined the treatment table with hamstring problems.
Injuries: Jun Ichimori, Haruto Shirai, Leandro Pereira, Yuji Ono
Suspension: None
Kashiwa Reysol
Hidekazu Otani (shoulder impingement) and Takumi Kamijima (concussion) are both unavailable due to injuries. There are no suspension worries for the visitors.
Injuries: Hidekazu Otani, Takumi Kamijima
Suspension: None
Gamba Osaka vs Kashiwa Reysol Predicted XI
Gamba Osaka Predicted XI (3-4-3): Masaaki Higashiguchi (GK); Gen Shoji, Shunya Suganuma, Ko Yanagisawa; Hiroki Fujiharu, Yosuke Ideguchi, Yuki Yamamoto, Kosuke Onose; Takashi Usami, Shu Kurata, Patric
Kashiwa Reysol Predicted XI (3-4-3): Kim Seung-Gyu (GK); Takuma Ominami, Yuji Takahashi, Taiyo Koga; Hiromu Mitsumaru, Richardson, Sachiro Toshima, Naoki Kawaguchi; Cristiano da Silva, Yusuke Segawa, Mao Hosoya
Gamba Osaka vs Kashiwa Reysol Prediction
The two sides are almost evenly matched across the board and their positions on the table reflect this. There is little to choose between them and we are backing the points to be shared in a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Gamba Osaka 1-1 Kashiwa Reysol