Nagoya Grampus will host Daegu in the AFC Champions League round-of-16 on Tuesday for a place in the quarterfinals.
The home side secured their spot at this stage by virtue of their first-place finish in Group G. Daegu finished in second spot in Group I behind Kawasaki Frontale but their 12 points were enough to finish as one of the best runners-up.
Nagoya Grampus come into this game on the back of a convincing 3-0 victory over Tokushima Vortis in the J1 League on Friday. Mateus and Mu Kanazaki scored penalties in either half to inspire their side to all three points.
Daegu secured a 2-1 comeback victory away to Pohang Steelers on the same day. Cesinha and Edgar Silva scored second-half goals to complete the turnaround.
Nagoya Grampus vs Daegu Head-to-Head
This will be the first continental meeting between the sides and a place in the quarterfinal is up for grabs for the winner.
The-round-of-16 in the AFC Champions League will be played over one leg, leaving little margin for error.
The hosts have been in fine form and are currently on an eight-game unbeaten run with seven games in this sequence ending in a win. Daegu have won just two of their last six games in all competitions.
Nagoya Grampus form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-D-W
Daegu form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-L-L
Nagoya Grampus vs Daegu Team News
Nagoya Grampus
Yuichi Maruyama and Ryogo Yamasaki have been sidelined with cruciate ligament and ankle injuries respectively.
Injuries: Yuichi Maruyama, Ryogo Yamasaki
Suspension: None
Daegu
The visitors currently have three players sidelined by fitness concerns. Gyeong-ju Sue, Jae-woo Kim and Tae-wook Jeong are all unavailable for selection due to injury troubles.
Injuries: Gyeong-ju Sue, Jae-woo Kim, Tae-wook Jeong
Suspension: None
Nagoya Grampus vs Daegu Predicted XI
Nagoya Grampus Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Mitchell Langerak (GK); Yutaka Yoshida, Min-Tae Kim, Shinnosuke Nakatani, Shumpei Naruse; Kazuki Nagasawa, Sho Inagaki; Ryoya Morishita, Naoki Maeda, Mateus; Jakub Swierczok
Daegu Predicted XI (3-5-2): Young-Eun Cho (GK); Jin-Woo Jo, Jung-Woon Hong, Hoo-Sung Oh; Soon-Min Hwang, Yong-Rae Lee, Cesinha, Bruno Lamas, Seong-Wan Jang; Bruno Silva, Jin-Hyeok Kim
Nagoya Grampus vs Daegu Prediction
The two sides are attack-minded, although the high stakes involved in the game mean that they might be more cautious in their approach.
Nagoya's fine run of form does not look like it will stop anytime soon and we are backing the Japanese side to secure a victory with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Nagoya Grampus 2-1 Deagu