Yokohama F. Marinos will entertain Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium in the second leg of the J League Cup quarter-final fixture on Wednesday.
The first leg tie took place at the Edion Stadium Hiroshima last week. Sanfrecce made the most of their home advantage, inflicting a 3-1 defeat on the runaway J1 League leaders.
Yokohama suffered a 2-1 defeat in their league outing against reigning champions Kawasaki Frontale on Sunday and will be looking to return to winning ways here.
Sanfrecce picked up their first league win in a month on Sunday as they secured a 2-0 win away at Kashima Antlers, thanks to late goals from Ezequiel and Takumu Kawamura. They are in good form and will be feeling confident about defending their two-goal advantage in this game.
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima Head-to-Head
This game will mark the 100th meeting between the two sides. The Marinos have been the better side in this fixture with 57 wins against their western rivals. Sanfrecce have 30 wins while 12 games have ended in draws.
The visitors have picked up two wins in their last three meetings against the hosts, though they are winless at Wednesday's venue since 2016.
Yokohama F. Marinos form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-D-D
Sanfrecce Hiroshima form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-D-W
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima Team News
Yokohama F. Marinos
Ryo Miyaichi remains the only absentee for the home team with an injury at the moment and they are free from any suspension concerns as well.
Injured: Ryo Miyaichi
Suspended: None
Doubtful: None
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Douglas Vieira returned to the fold in their previous league outing and is in contention to start here after making an appearance from the bench last time around.
Shun Ayukawa's involvement is doubtful while Shunki Higashi remains sidelined with an injury.
Injured: Shunki Higashi
Doubtful: Shun Ayukawa
Suspended: None
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima Predicted XIs
Yokohama F. Marinos (4-3-3): Yohei Takaoka (GK); Katsuya Nagato, Ryotaro Tsunoda, Dudu, Ken Matsubara; Takuma Nishimura, Tomoki Iwata, Anderson Lopes; Elber, Kota Mizunuma, Leonardo de Sousa Pereira
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (3-4-2-1): Keisuke Osako (GK); Hayato Araki, Sho Sasaki, Yuta Imazu; Ezequiel, Tomoya Fujii, Taishi Matsumoto, Kosei Shibasaki; Júnior Santos, Tsukasa Morishima; Nassim Ben Khalifa
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Yokohama F. Marinos vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima Prediction
Yokohama have just one win to their name in their last five games, while Sanfrecce have picked up three in the same period. Yokohama can bounce back here but Sanfrecce's form means they won't go down without a fight.
Though we predict the hosts will secure a win, it probably won't be enough to overturn a two-goal deficit on aggregate and Sanfrecce should progress into the next round of fixtures.
Prediction: Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima