Battling it out at the top of the table, fourth-placed Vissel Kobe come face to face with second-placed Kashima Antlers at the NOEVIR Stadium Kobe on Sunday.
The hosts have won just one of their last six league fixtures heading into this one, while the visitors have gone 11 games without defeat in the J1 League.
Match preview
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For the third match in a row, Vissel Kobe are set to face a member of the top three having already matched up against league-leading Machida Zelvia and Gamba Osaka in the last week.
Takayuki Yoshida's side were unfortunate to take just one point from those two matches after being the dominant side in both fixtures, losing 2-1 to Gamba Osaka despite creating 1.94 expected goals to their opponents' 0.40, before being held to a 0-0 draw against the league leaders after taking 15 shots to their four.
Those results have seen Vissel Kobe's poor run of form extend to just one win in their last six league outings, dropping from second place to fourth in that time and leaving them four points behind the top three.
As third-placed Gamba Osaka are set to take on Machida Zelvia on Sunday, three points for the hosts in this one could see them close the gap on the top three to just one point.
While the results have been far from desirable, recent performances have seen the Cows slowly return to their best and that will give them plenty of confidence ahead of this one.
In stark contrast, Kashima Antlers have been enjoying a fantastic run that has seen them go undefeated in their last 11 J1 League fixtures, resulting in Ranko Popovic's side rising from eighth on matchday nine to second before their trip to the NOEVIR Stadium Kobe.
Despite the unbeaten run coming as a positive, three successive draws in their last three matches will undoubtedly be a cause for concern for Popovic, especially with third-placed Gamba Osaka drawing level on points in that time.
The visitors have only won the league once, in 2016, since three-peating from 2007 to 2009 and could move into the driving seat in the hunt for their record-breaking ninth top-flight league title with a victory, depending on the result between first and third place.
Kashima Antlers' home form has certainly been their main strength this year, the only team yet to be beaten at home with six wins and four draws from 10 matches, but they still rank fourth in the away table with 16 points taken from 10 fixtures.
That record on the road will certainly give them confidence heading into this one, especially with Vissel Kobe ranked 11th for home results, though historically, games between these two have been evenly split with eight wins each and four draws in the last 20 meetings.
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Team News
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Despite failing to score against Machida Zelvia in their last outing, a dominant performance could see Yoshida opt to name the same starting 11 in this one.
Haruya Ide and Takahiro Ogihara were absent from the squad in that game after both starting in the 2-1 defeat to Gamba Osaka with Taisei Miyashiro and Yosuke Ideguchi brought into the team in their place.
Yuya Osako dropped to the bench for the 0-0 draw, with Jean Patric replacing him in the side, and the Brazilian is expected to keep his place here.
Popovic has named the same starting side in each of Kashima Antlers' last nine league fixtures and is expected to do so again after a positive performance in the 0-0 draw with Gamba Osaka last time out.
Yuma Suzuki's 10 goals have him fourth in the race for top scorer in the J1 League, and with four goals in his last five games across all competitions his side will be looking to him to make the difference again here.
Vissel Kobe possible starting lineup:
Maekawa; Sakai, Kikuchi, Thuler, Hatsuse; Ideguchi, Yamaguchi; Muto, Miyashiro, Patric; Sasaki
Kashima Antlers possible starting lineup:
Hayakawa; Nono, Ueda, Sekigawa, Anzai; Sano, Chinen; Morooka, Nago, Nakama; Suzuki
We say: Vissel Kobe 1-2 Kashima Antlers
Vissel Kobe may have seen an improvement in their performances over the past weeks but their poor home form this season combined with Kashima Antlers' strong away record leads us to believe the visitors will win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
