Gamba Osaka will entertain Shimizu S-Pulse at the Suita City Stadium in a bottom-of-the-table J1 League clash on Sunday.
The hosts are without a win in their last five league outings. They're coming off a 1-1 draw against Kyoto Sanga a fortnight ago, with their game against Avispa Fukuoka getting postponed.
Shimizu, meanwhile, returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over FC Tokyo. They're now 15th in the league table, while Osaka down one place and trail them by two points.
Gamba Osaka vs Shimizu S-Pulse Head-to-Head
This will be the 77th meeting between the two teams across competitions. Osaka have a 36-29 lead in wins, while 11 games have ended in draws.
Osaka are undefeated in their last three games against Shimizu, with the reverse fixture ending in a 1-1 draw in April. Osaka have failed to score in their last two home games against Shimizu and will look to end that run.
Gamba Osaka form guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-L.
Shimizu S-Pulse form guide (all competitions): W-D-L-W-L.
Gamba Osaka vs Shimizu S-Pulse Team News
Gamba Osaka
Takashi Usami, Yuya Fukuda, Yuki Yamamoto, Rihito Yamamoto and Jun Ichimori remain sidelined and will not play here.
Injured: Takashi Usami, Yuya Fukuda, Yuki Yamamoto, Rihito Yamamoto, Jun Ichimori.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Shimizu S-Pulse
There are no fresh absentees for the visitors, as Renato Augusto, Togo Umeda, and Kenta Nishizawa remain sidelined with injury.
Injured: Renato Augusto, Togo Umeda, Kenta Nishizawa.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Gamba Osaka vs Shimizu S-Pulse Predicted XIs
Gamba Osaka (3-5-2): Masaaki Higashiguchi (GK); Kyung-won Kwon, Gen Shoji, Genta Miura; Keisuke Kurokawa, Hiroki Fujiharu, Dawhan, Mitsuki Saito, Kosuke Onose; Leandro Pereira, Hiroto Yamami.
Shimizu S-Pulse (4-4-2): Shuichi Gonda (GK); Reon Yamahara, Yoshinori Suzuki, Yugo Tatsuta, Teruki Hara; Carlinhos, Kota Miyamoto, Ryohei Shirasaki, Takashi Inui; Thiago Santana, Yago Pikachu.
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Gamba Osaka vs Shimizu S-Pulse Prediction
There's not much to separate between the two teams. However, Shimizu have scored 31 goals to Osaka's 23 this campaign.
Shimizu, however, have the second-worst defensive record in the league, conceding 38 goals in 24 games. So a clean sheet for them here seems unlikely. Given the recent results in this fixture, another stalemate could ensue.
Prediction: Gamba Osaka 1-1 Shimizu S-Pulse.