Arguably the pick of the matches in the J1 League this weekend will see Sanfrecce Hiroshima welcome high-flyers Yokohama F Marinos to Edion Stadium on Saturday.
It is a match of huge significance as the hosts, currently in fifth place in the league, will be looking to remain within touching distance of the AFC Champions League qualification spots, while the visitors will want to maintain their standing at the top of the league table.
Match preview
Following an easy win over lower-league opponents FC Tokushima in the Emperor Cup two weeks ago, Hiroshima come into this match off the back of two costly defeats that saw them lose their final group stage match in the J-League Cup and drop a place in the league standings in the space of a week.
Since their five-match winning streak in the league back in April, the hosts have managed just four wins in the next nine matches heading into this one, including a 1-0 loss in their most recent match against Kawasaki Frontale.
Hiroshima were unable to create many big chances in that match, registering just two shots on target, and never really looked likely to recover after going behind just before the hour mark.
While their overall record shows inconsistency, the hosts hold a decent home record in the league with five wins, one draw and two losses in their eight matches at Edion Stadium, and they are currently on a three-match winning streak, securing consecutive victories over Avispa Fukuoka, Shonan Bellmare and Kyoto Sanga.
Despite finishing behind this opponent in the last two seasons, Hiroshima have held their own in this contest and are unbeaten against them in their last three encounters, drawing the reverse match this season and knocking them out of the J-League Cup last term.
The reigning champions come into this one in excellent attacking form, having smashed in 10 goals in their last two matches with a 4-3 win over Kashiwa Reysol in the league and a 6-1 thumping of Sagan Tosu, which secured them the top spot in Group A of the J-League Cup.
Against Kashiwa Reysol, Anderson Lopes stuck away a penalty inside the first 15 minutes of the match and doubled his tally shortly after their opponents were reduced to 10 men, making him the outright leader in the top goalscorer standings with 13, two clear of Vissel Kobe forward Yuya Osako.
With those wins, the visitors are now on a five-match winning streak in all competitions and are ahead of Nagoya and Vissel Kobe in the league by one and three points respectively, though the latter have played a game less and do possess a better goal difference as it stands.
Yokohama F Marinos have only suffered three defeats in the J1 League this season, and all of them came in away matches, meaning that the visitors currently have only the fourth-best away record this season with five wins, one draw and three losses in nine matches.
With Nagoya and Vissel Kobe both playing bottom-half opponents this weekend, Hiroshima have to find a way of bringing their three-match winless run against this opponent to an end here, or they could find themselves dropping out of pole position, potentially all the way to third, as we head into the second half of the season.
Team News
Michael Skibbe will have two absentees to contend with for this important fixture, with Makoto Mitsuta (cruciate ligament injury) and Pieros Sotiriou (thigh strain) both expected to remain sidelined for a while longer.
In search of a spark at the top end of the pitch, Skibbe changed his side's formation to a 3-5-2 shortly after the break in their loss to Kawasaki Frontale by bringing on attacker Nassim Ben Khalifa in place of Gakuto Notsuda, and he may opt for a similar move from the start in this one.
Katsuya Nagato picked up two yellow cards in their cup win over Sagan Tosu, meaning that he will be suspended for this match, and that should result in either Yuki Saneto or Yuta Koike being brought into the left-back role in his absence.
Kevin Muscat is a little short of options in defence with injuries to Ryuta Koike (knee), Ryotaro Tsunoda (foot) and goalkeeper Hiroki Iikura (leg), but at the other end of the pitch, Lopes will almost certainly lead the line for the league leaders as he aims to add to his already-impressive tally for the season.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima possible starting lineup:
Osako; Sumiyoshi, Araki, Sasaki; Higashi, Kawamura, Koshimichi, Ezequiel, Morishima; Khalifa, Vieira
Yokohama F Marinos possible starting lineup:
Ichimori; Matsubara, Hatanaka, Dudu, Koike; Kida, Watanabe, Elber, Junior, Matheus; Lopes
We say: Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-2 Yokohama F Marinos
While Yokohama F Marinos have the best attacking record this season with 37 goals, they have also conceded the most of any side in the top half of the table, and it seems unlikely that they will maintain a clean sheet here either.
However, Muscat's main plan of action so far this season seems to be based on outscoring their opponents, and we fancy that they will do just that in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
