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Vissel Kobe will take a break from J League duties this week as they face Renofa Yamaguchi at the Ishin Me-Life Stadium on Wednesday in the third round of the Emperor's Cup.
The Ushi faced third-tier outfit Kataller Toyoma in the previous round of the domestic competition, winning 3-2. They found themselves on the verge of a cup exit after conceding two first-half goals before strikes from substitutes Daiju Sasaki and Yuya Osako in the final 20 minutes of the game turned the game around.
Vissel Kobe have won the cup competition once, lifting the title in 2019, and will hope to replicate such heights this season.
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Renofa Yamaguchi faced Mito Hollyhock in the second round of the Emperor's Cup, winning 2-1. They took an early lead via a Yatsunori Shimaya strike before their opponents leveled the scores later in the second half to take the game to extra-time, where Takuya Namata would score the winner.
Renofa Yamaguchi have never made it past this stage of the domestic competition in their history and will be desperate to change that this week.
Vissel Kobe vs Renofa Yamaguchi Head-to-Head
Wednesday's game will mark the very first meeting between Vissel Kobe and Renofa Yamaguchi. Both sides will be determined to secure a victory as they seek to advance in the cup competition.
Vissel Kobe Form Guide (All Competitions): L-W-W-D-L
Renofa Yamaguchi Form Guide (All Competitions): L-L-W-W-L
Vissel Kobe vs Renofa Yamaguchi Team News
Vissel Kobe
The Ushi will be without the services of Sergi Samper and Noriaki Fujimoto this week as the duo are both injured. Tomoaki Makino has been out of action for a month due to injury and is a major dthe for this game as he works his way back to full fitness.
On a positive note, Daiju Sasaki is back in the squad after a three-month spell on the sidelines.
Injured: Sergi Samper, Noriaki Fujimoto
Doubtful: Tomoaki Makino
Suspended: None
Renofa Yamaguchi
There are no injured or suspended players for Renofa Yamaguchi ahead of their midweek game.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Vissel Kobe vs Renofa Yamaguchi Predicted XI
Vissel Kobe Predicted XI (4-3-3): Daiya Maekawa; Gotoku Sakai, Yuki Kobayashi, Ryuho Kikuchi, Tetsushi Yamakawa; Hotaru Yamaguchi, Leo Osaki, Andres Iniesta; Koya Yuruki, Bojan Krkic, Yoshinori Muto
Renofa Yamaguchi Predicted XI (4-3-3): Kentaro Seki; Jin Ikoma, Kosuke Kikuchi, Renan dos Santos, Kaito Kuwahara; Riku Kamigaki, Koji Yamase, Wataru Tanaka; Takaya Numata, Daisuke Takagi, Shuhei Otsuki
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Vissel Kobe vs Renofa Yamaguchi Prediction
Vissel Kobe's latest result ended a run of back-to-back victories and marked their fourth winless outing in their last six games across all competitions. However, they are coming up against second-tier Renofa Yamaguchi, who are on a run of back-to-back defeats and have won just two of their last nine games.
We are backing the Ushi to win this encounter.
Prediction: Vissel Kobe 2-0 Renofa Yamaguchi
