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Kashima Antlers and Gamba Osaka will battle for three points in a J1 League fixture on Saturday.
The home side come into the game on the back of a shock 3-0 defeat to Avispa Fukuoka at the same ground last Saturday. Juanma Delgado scored a first-half brace to guide his side to all three points.
Gamba Osaka suffered a 3-2 defeat to Vegalta Sendai on home turf on Sunday. Cayman Togashi's first-half brace and Takuma Nishimura's winner were enough to guide the visitors to victory.
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That defeat saw Osaka drop to 14th spot, with 30 points garnered from 28 matches. Kashima Antlers are in seventh place on 47 points.
Kashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka Head-to-Head
The two sides have clashed on 39 occasions in the past and there is little to choose from between their records.
Gamba Osaka have a marginally better record with 14 wins to their name, while 12 previous matches ended in a share of the spoils. Kashima Antlers were victorious on 13 occasions.
Their most recent meeting came in July when Arthur Caike scored a second-half goal to give Kashima Antlers a 1-0 away win.
The hosts are currently on a three-game losing run while Gamba Osaka have just one win from their last six matches in all competitions.
Kashima Antlers form guide (all competitions): L-L-L-W-W
Gamba Osaka form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-L-L
Kashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka Team News
Kashima Antlers
Taiki Yamada (cruciate ligament), Rikuto Hirose (hamstring) and Tomoya Inukai (hamstring) have all been sidelined by fitness concerns.
Injuries: Taiki Yamada, Rikuto Hirose, Tomoya Inukai
Suspension: None
Gamba Osaka
The visitors have two players ruled out with injuries. Haruto Shirai (cruciate ligament) and Jun Ichimori (hamstring) are both unavailable for selection.
Wellington Silva has recovered from his adductor injury and could be in line for selection.
Injuries: Jun Ichimori, Haruto Shirai
Suspension: None
Kashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka Predicted XI
Kashima Antlers Predicted XI (4-4-2): Yuya Oki (GK); Koki Anzai, Naoki Hayashi, Wellington Bueno, Keigo Tsunemoto; Ryuji Izumi, Pituca, Kento Misao, Shoma Doi; Ayase Ueda, Ryotaro Araki
Gamba Osaka Predicted XI (3-4-3): Masaaki Higashiguchi (GK); Gen Shoji, Kim Young-Gwon, Ko Yanagisawa; Hiroki Fujiharu, Shu Kurata, Yosuke Ideguchi, Kosuke Onose; Takashi Usami, Shinya Yajima, Patric
Kashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka Prediction
The hosts are slight favorites in the game and despite having been out of form in recent weeks, an out-of-sorts Gamba Osaka offers a chance to get back to winning ways.
We are backing Kashima Antlers to secure a narrow victory with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Kashima Antlers 2-1 Gamba Osaka
