Nagoya Grampus host Shonan Bellmare at Toyota Stadium in a J1 League matchday 24 fixture on Sunday.
The hosts suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Yokohama F. Marinos in their most recent game. Kenyu Sugimoto and Marcos Junior scored first-half goals to give the home side all three points on Thursday.
Shonan Bellmare threw away an early lead in a 2-1 defeat to Kashima Antlers on home turf. Tamoya Inukai scored a brace to help Antlers complete their comeback victory.
That defeat left Shonan Bellmare floundering in the relegation zone and they are currently two points away from safety. Nagoya Grampus are sitting pretty in sixth place with 37 points garnered from 23 matches.
Nagoya Grampus vs Shonan Bellmare Head-to-Head
The two sides have clashed on 18 occasions in the past and Nagoya Grampus have a marginally better head-to-head record with seven wins to their name.
Shonan Bellmare were victorious on six previous occasions - the same number of draws that both teams have played out.
Their most recent meeting came in April when they could not be separated in a goalless stalemate.
Both sides have been poor of late, with the hosts losing three of their last five games, having initially won six on the bounce.
Shonan Bellmare have lost four of their last five games in all competitions.
Nagoya Grampus form guide: L-L-W-L-D
Shonan Bellmare form guide: L-L-W-L-L
Nagoya Grampus vs Shonan Bellmare Team News
Nagoya Grampus
Mu Kanazaki, Yuichi Maruyama and Ryogo Yamasaki have all been sidelined by long-term injuries. There are no suspension worries for Nagoya Grampus.
Injuries: Mu Kanazaki, Yuichi Maruyama, Ryogo Yamasaki
Suspension: None
Shonan Bellmare
There are no known injuries or suspension worries for the visitors.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Nagoya Grampus vs Shonan Bellmare Predicted XI
Nagoya Grampus Predicted XI (4-3-3): Mitchell Langerak (GK); Yutaka Yoshida, Yasuki Kimoto, Kazuya Miyahara, Shinnosuke Nakatani; Sho Inagaki, Kazuki Nagasawa, Takuji Yonemoto; Manabu Saito, Mateus, Yoichiro Kakitani
Shonan Bellmare Predicted XI (3-5-2): Kosei Tani (GK); Shuto Yamamoto, Hirokazu Ishihara, Kazuki Oiwa; Hidetoshi Miyuki, Ryo Takahashi, Naoki Yamada, Akimi Barada, Takuya Okamoto; Yuki Ohashi, Wellington
Nagoya Grampus vs Shonan Bellmare Prediction
Despite their struggles in recent weeks, Nagoya Grampus are still favorites in this game and should have enough firepower to see off an even poorer Shonan Bellmare side.
The hosts are not as desperate for points as Bellmare are, but Grampus will be eager to get back to winning ways. We are predicting a comfortable victory for Nagoya Grampus in addition to a clean sheet.
Prediction: Nagoya Grampus 2-0 Shonan Bellmare