Gamba Osaka will welcome Nagoya Grampus to Panasonic Stadium for a matchday 36 fixture in the J1 League on Saturday.
The hosts narrowly edged a five-goal thriller away to Oita Trinita before the international break. Patric starred with a hat-trick to guide his side to a 3-2 victory away from home.
Nagoya Grampus had to settle for a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw away to Vegalta Sendai. Yoichiro Kakitani and Takuma Nishimura scored in either half to share the spoils at fulltime.
The draw saw Grampus drop to fifth place in the table, having accrued 62 points from 35 matches. Gamba Osaka sit in 13th place on 43 points.
Gamba Osaka vs Nagoya Grampus Head-to-Head
The two sides have clashed on 36 occasions and Nagoya have a slightly better record with 15 wins to their name.
Gamba Osaka were victorious on 13 occasions while eight matches in the past ended in a share of the spoils.
Their most recent meeting came in April when goals from Ryogo Yamasaki and Yuki Soma helped Nagoya Grampus secure a 2-0 victory on home turf.
Both sides have lost just one of their last five league games, although the hosts have been more consistent with three wins registered in this sequence.
Gamba Osaka form guide: W-W-L-W-D
Nagoya Grampus form guide: D-W-W-L-D
Gamba Osaka vs Nagoya Grampus Team News
Gamba Osaka
Jun Ichimori (hamstring), Leandro Pereira (hamstring) and Yuji Ono (hamstring) are all still sidelined with injury issues.
Injuries: Jun Ichimori, Leandro Pereira, Yuji Ono
Suspension: None
Nagoya Grampus
Yuichi Maruyama (cruciate ligament), Hiroyuki Abe (knee) and Takuji Yonemoto (meniscal) are all unavailable due to injuries.
Injury: Yuichi Maruyama, Hiroyuki Abe, Takuji Yonemoto
Suspension: None
Gamba Osaka vs Nagoya Grampus Predicted XI
Gamba Osaka Predicted XI (3-4-3): Masaaki Higashiguchi (GK); Keisuke Karokawa, Shunya Suganuma, Ko Yanagisawa; Hiroki Fujiharu, Yosuke Ideguchi, Yuki Yamamoto, Shu Kurata; Wellington Silva, Takashi Usami, Patric
Nagoya Grampus Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Mitchell Langerak (GK); Yutaka Yoshida, Min-Tae Kim, Shinnosuke Nakatani, Kazuya Miyahara; Kazuki Nagasawa, Sho Inagaki; Ryoya Morishita, Naoki Maeda, Mateus dos Santos; Jakub Swierczok
Gamba Osaka vs Nagoya Grampus Prediction
Nagoya Grampus are favorites on paper but the visitors' recent struggles have seen them fall from the AFC Champions League spots.
The hosts, by contrast, have impressed in recent weeks and will be looking to register a third consecutive victory. The two sides are likely to each play on the front foot and we are backing the spoils to be shared in a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Gamba Osaka 1-1 Nagoya Grampus