Sanfrecce Hiroshima welcome Yokohama F. Marinos to the Edion Stadium for a matchday 28 fixture in the J1 League on Saturday.
The home side come into the clash on the back of a 1-1 draw with Vissel Kobe in a rescheduled league game on Sunday. Second-half goals from Shunki Higashi and Daiju Sasaki ensured the two sides shared the spoils at full-time.
Yokohama F. Marinos have not been in action since suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Kashima Antlers at the end of August. First-half goals from Ryotaro Araki and Ayayse Ueda saw the visitors pick up all three points.
That defeat meant Marinos were dealt a blow in their quest to keep pace with table-toppers Kawasaki Frontale in the title race. The Yokohama outfit currently find themselves four points behind the pacesetters in second place, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima sit in 10th place with 36 points.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Yokohama F. Marinos Head-to-Head
The two sides have met on 39 occasions in the past and Yokohama F. Marinos have the advantage with 18 wins to their name.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima were victorious on 13 occasions while eight previous matches ended in a share of the spoils.
One of those stalemates came in their most recent meeting, a 1-1 draw in May that saw Leo Ceara and Shun Ayukawa get on the scoresheet.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima form guide: D-W-L-D-D
Yokohama F. Marinos form guide: L-W-W-W-W
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Yokohama F. Marinos Team News
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Shun Ayukawa (metatarsal) and Ryo Nagai (ankle) have both been sidelined by injuries. Rhayner will also miss out through suspension due to his double booking against Vissel Kobe.
Injuries: Shun Ayukawa, Ryo Nagai
Suspension: Rhayner
Yokohama F. Marinos
Shinnosuke Hatanaka is a new injury concern for the visitors on account of tendonitis.
Injury: Shinnosuke Hatanaka
Suspension: None
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Yokohama F. Marinos Predicted XI
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Predicted XI (3-4-3): Keisuke Osako (GK); Shunki Higashi, Hayato Araki, Yuta Imazu; Tomoya Fuji, Toshihiro Aoyama, Dohi Kodai, Yoshifumi Kashiwa; Kosei Shibasaki, Ezequiel, Douglas Vieira
Yokohama F. Marinos Predicted XI (4-3-3): Yohei Takaoka (GK); Takuya Wada, Yuki Saneto, Theeraton Bunmathan, Ryuta Koike; Takahiro Ogihara, Tomoki Iwata, Jun Amano; Teruhito Nakagawa, Daizen Maeda, Leo Ceara
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Yokohama F. Marinos Prediction
The visitors have been one of the most in-form teams in the league and will be keen to get back to winning ways following last weekend's defeat.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima have what it takes to get the job done on home turf but have been plagued by inconsistencies throughout the season. We are predicting a routine victory for Yokohama F. Marinos.
Prediction: Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0-2 Yokohama F. Marinos