Gamba Osaka and Sagan Tosu will battle for three points at the Panasonic Stadium in a J1 League fixture on Saturday.
The two sides come into the game on the back of 1-1 draws in their respective games last weekend. The home side were held away by Urawa Reds, with Ataru Esaka and Patric remarkably scoring two injury-time penalties to share the spoils.
Sagan Tosu were held to a draw by Shonan Bellmare on home turf. Noriyoshi Sakai scored a second-half equalizer for the hosts after Shuto Machino had put Bellmare ahead.
Gamba Osaka currently sit in 14th spot on 34 points while Sagan Tosu's 52 points from 32 games is good enough for seventh spot.
Gamba Osaka vs Sagan Tosu Head-to-Head
Gamba Osaka have 11 wins from their last 20 games against Tosu. Tosu were victorious on seven occasions while two matches in the past ended in a draw.
Their most recent meeting came in April when Takashi Usami's second-half strike was enough to give Gamba Osaka a 1-0 away win.
The visitors are currently on a four-game winless run while Gamba Osaka have fared slightly better with two wins from their last five matches.
Gamba Osaka form guide (all competitions): D-L-W-W-L
Sagan Tosu form guide: D-L-L-D-W
Gamba Osaka vs Sagan Tosu Team News
Gamba Osaka
Haruto Shirai (cruciate ligament), Jun Ichimori (hamstring), Leandro Pereira (hamstring) and Yuji Ono (hamstring) are all still sidelined with fitness issues.
Injuries: Jun Ichimori, Haruto Shirai, Leandro Pereira, Yuji Ono
Suspension: None
Sagan Tosu
Yosuke Yuzawa (cruciate ligament rupture) and Fuchi Honda (hamstring) are the only injury concerns for the visitors.
Injuries: Yosuke Yuzawa, Fuchi Hondo
Suspension: None
Gamba Osaka vs Sagan Tosu Predicted XI
Gamba Osaka Predicted XI (3-4-3): Masaaki Higashiguchi (GK); Kim Young-Gwon, Shunya Suganuma, Ko Yanagisawa; Hiroki Fujiharu, Yosuke Ideguchi, Yuki Yamamoto, Shu Kurata; Wellington Silva, Takashi Usami, Patric
Sagan Tosu Predicted XI (3-5-2): Il-Kyu Park (GK); Ayumu Ohata, Seok-Ho Hwang, Toshio Shimakawa; Yuta Higuchi, Yoshihiro Nakano, Keiya Sento, Ryohei Shirasaki, Nanasei Lino; Yuto Iwasaki, Keita Yamashita
Gamba Osaka vs Sagan Tosu
Gamba Osaka have been one of the poorest sides on home turf this season and this will give Sagan Tosu extra impetus to end their recent poor run of form.
The visitors' recent struggles have put paid to their continental aspirations but they still have enough quality to end the season on a high. We are backing Sagan Tosu to secure maximum points with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Gamba Osaka 1-2 Sagan Tosu