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Shimizu S-Pulse will square off against J1 League leaders Yokohama F. Marinos at the Japan National Stadium on Saturday.
Shimizu are undefeated in their last two league fixtures, bouncing back from a run of three back-to-back defeats. They played out a 1-1 draw against Cerezo Osaka in their previous outing after facing an exit from the Emperor's Cup third-round fixture against Kyoto Sanga last Wednesday.
Yokohama F. Marinos made it four wins in a row with a 4-0 win against Kashiwa Reysol last Saturday. Surprisingly, they were also eliminated from the third round of the Emperor's Cup last week but have been in solid form in the league.
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Shimizu S-Pulse vs Yokohama F. Marinos Head-to-Head
The two sides have locked horns 77 times across all competitions. Yokohama enjoy a 35-27 lead in wins while 15 games have ended in draws. Greater Tokyo Area-based Yokohama are on a seven-game unbeaten run against the home team, picking up five wins in that period.
The two sides last crossed paths in league action in March at the Nissan Stadium, with the reverse fixture ending in a 2-0 win for the then-hosts.
Shimizu S-Pulse form guide (all competitions): D-L-W-W-L
Yokohama F. Marinos form guide (all competitions): W-L-W-W-W
Shimizu S-Pulse vs Yokohama F. Marinos Team News
Shimizu S-Pulse
Togo Umeda, Renato Augusto, and Katsuhiro Nakayama are all currently dealing with ailments and will play no part in this fixture.
Injured: Togo Umeda, Renato Augusto, Katsuhiro Nakayama.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Yokohama F. Marinos
Anderson Lopes served the last of his six-game suspension in the previous outing and will be available for selection again. Takuya Kida and Ryuta Koike remain sidelined with injuries.
Injured: Takuya Kida, Ryuta Koike
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Shimizu S-Pulse vs Yokohama F. Marinos Predicted XIs
Shimizu S-Pulse (4-3-3): Shuichi Gonda (GK); Yoshinori Suzuki, Eiichi Katayama, Reon Yamahara, Yugo Tatsuta; Ryohei Shirasaki, Kenta Nishizawa, Yuta Kamiya; Kota Miyamoto, Thiago Santana, Yusuke Goto.
Yokohama F. Marinos (4-3-3): Yohei Takaoka; Katsuya Nagato, Ryotaro Tsunoda, Shinnosuke Hatanaka, Ken Matsubara; Takuma Nishimura, Tomoki Iwata, Kota Watanabe; Elber, Kota Mizunuma, Leonardo de Sousa Pereira.
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Shimizu S-Pulse vs Yokohama F. Marinos Prediction
Shimizu S-Pulse have scored six goals in their last five league outings while Yokohama, who have the best-attacking record in the league, have scored 10 goals in the same period.
Given Marinos' better league form, they should be able to secure a narrow win here.
Prediction: Shimizu S-Pulse 1-2 Yokohama F. Marinos
