Yokohama F. Marinos host Vegalta Sendai at the Mitsuzawa Stadium on Saturday with three points on the line in the J1 League.
The home side come into the game on the back of an emphatic 5-1 victory over Oita Trinita on home turf. Daizen Maeda starred with a hat-trick in the rout, while Leo Ceara scored a brace.
Vegalta Sendai could not be separated in a goalless draw with Marinos' city rivals Yokohama FC last Saturday.
That draw left the Miyagi outfit in 18th place in the table and they need to start accruing points to avoid suffering relegation. Yokohama F. Marinos still sit in second spot with 56 points picked from 24 matches.
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Vegalta Sendai Head-to-Head
The two sides have met on 30 occasions in the past and Yokohama F. Marinos have a marginally better head-to-head record.
The hosts have 12 wins to their name, while 10 matches have ended in a stalemate. Vegalta Sendai were victorious eight times.
Their most recent meeting came in April when Yokohama F. Marinos ran riot in a 5-2 away victory.
Marinos are currently on an eight-game unbeaten run, with seven games in this sequence ending in a victory. Vegalta Sendai are winless in nine games but have drawn six times since their last victory.
Yokohama F. Marinos form guide: W-W-D-W-W
Vegalta Sendai form guide: D-D-L-D-D
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Vegalta Sendai Team News
Yokohama F. Marinos
There are no known injury or suspension concerns for the hosts.
Injury: None
Suspension: None
Vegalta Sendai
There are no known injuries or suspension worries for the visitors.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Vegalta Sendai Predicted XI
Yokohama F. Marinos Predicted XI (4-3-3): Yohei Takaoka (GK); Takuya Wada, Yuki Saneto, Shinnosuke Hatanaka, Ryuta Koike; Takahiro Ogihara, Tomoki Iwata, Jun Amano; Teruhito Nakagawa, Daizen Maeda, Leo Ceara
Vegalta Sendai Predicted XI (4-4-2): Jakub Slowik (GK); Takayoshi Ishihara, Naoya Fukumori, Hisashi Tawiah, Takumi Mase; Kunimitsu Sekiguchi, Rikiya Uehara, Foguinho, Chihiro Kato; Takuma Nishimura, Shuhei Akasaki
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Vegalta Sendai Prediction
Yokohama F. Marinos have been rampant in recent weeks and will be looking to keep their fine run going against a hapless Vegalta Sendai. The visitors have struggled throughout the campaign and look set to get relegated at the end of the season.
We are predicting a comfortable victory for the hosts in addition to a clean sheet.
Prediction: Yokohama F. Marinos 4-0 Vegalta Sendai
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