Oita Trinita welcome Vissel Kobe to the Showa Denko Dome for a matchday 26 fixture in the J1 League on Wednesday.
The home side come into the clash on the back of a 1-1 draw with Consadole Sapporo on Saturday. Hiroto Goya and Tsuyoshi Ogashiwa scored in either half to ensure that both sides shared the points.
Vissel Kobe picked up a narrow 1-0 victory over Kashima Antlers on home turf. Hotaru Yamaguchi scored the match-winner in the 79th minute.
That victory helped Kobe climb above their opponents into fourth place in the table, with 44 points garnered from 24 matches. Oita Trinita are further down in 19th place on just 17 points.
Oita Trinita vs Vissel Kobe Head-to-Head
The two sides have met on 20 previous occasions and Vissel Kobe have a marginally better record with eight wins to their name.
Oita Trinita were victorious on six occasions, the same number of draws that the two teams have played out.
One of those stalemates came in their most recent meeting, a goalless draw on matchday four of the current campaign.
The hosts have been in poor form, with just one win registered in their last five matches. Vissel Kobe have lost just two of their last 11 games.
Oita Trinita form guide: D-W-L-L-L
Vissel Kobe form guide: W-L-L-W-D
Oita Trinita vs Vissel Kobe Team News
Oita Trinita
There are no known injuries or suspension concerns for the hosts.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Vissel Kobe
Lincoln Correa and new signing Yuya Osako have both been ruled out with fitness issues. Midfielder Sergi Samper served out his suspension for accumulated yellow cards against Kashima Antlers and should be available for selection.
Injuries: Yuya Osako, Lincoln Correa
Suspension: None
Oita Trinita vs Vissel Kobe Predicted XI
Oita Trinita Predicted XI (3-4-3): William Popp; Yuto Misao, Henrique, Keisuke Saka; Yuki Kagawa, Hokume Shimoda, Yuki Kobayashi, Kenta Inoue; Naoki Nomura, Arata Watanabe, Shun Nagasawa
Vissel Kobe Predicted XI (3-5-2): Hiroki Iikura; Yuki Kobayashi, Thomas Vermaelen, Ryuho Kikuchi; Ryo Hatsuse, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Andres Iniesta, Yuta Goke, Gotoku Sakai, Yuya Nakasaka; Douglas, Junya Tanaka
Oita Trinita vs Vissel Kobe Prediction
Oita Trinita have been on a poor run of form and look likely candidates to be relegated come the end of the season. Vissel Kobe, by contrast, have been more consistent throughout the campaign, even though they have suffered a dip in recent weeks.
We are predicting a comfortable victory for the visitors in addition to a clean sheet.
Prediction: Oita Trinita 0-2 Vissel Kobe
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