Tuesday, December 24

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Sports Mole previews Sunday's J1 League clash between Sagan Tosu and Sanfrecce Hiroshima, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Sagan Tosu will be looking to extend their lead over the relegation zone when they take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J1 League at Ekimae Real Estate Stadium on Sunday.

The visitors, meanwhile, head into this fixture aiming to win back-to-back league matches for the first time since June, keeping their push for AFC Champions League qualification alive.

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Match preview

© Imago

Sagan Tosu went into last weekend's match against Gamba Osaka on the back of three consecutive wins across all competitions, leaving them high on confidence.

However, Kenta Kawai's side were unable to maintain this run, falling 2-0 to the visitors at Ekimae Real Estate Stadium last Sunday, leaving them just one place and one point clear of the relegation zone.

Sagan conceded a goal in each half, first in the 19th minute from Isa Sakamoto, before Issam Jebali sealed their fate with six minutes remaining.

The defeat highlighted the hosts' struggles to win matches at home, recording only four victories from 12 matches at Ekimae Real Estate Stadium, while losing seven of those games.

With 15 matches left to play in the current league campaign, Sagan are in a precarious position and need to quickly turn things around, and their task is made more difficult by a ten-match winless streak against their next opponents.

© Imago

Sanfrecce Hiroshima will head into this match with some relief, having successfully ended a three-game winless run in the J1 League with a 1-0 victory over Avispa Fukuoka at Edion Peace Wing Stadium last Sunday.

The match looked like another frustrating evening for Michael Skibbe's side after a goalless first half, but Yuki Ohashi came to the rescue with a goal on the hour mark that proved to be the winner.

This result helped Sanfrecce climb to fifth position in the top-flight standings, four points behind third-placed Vissel Kobe, who currently occupy the final continental spot.

With the winless run finally over, Sanfrecce must now put together a positive run of results if they aim to return to the continental stage once again.

They will be looking to do just that on Sunday when they visit a Sagan side that they have beaten in the last three encounters.

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Team News

© Imago

Sagan Tosu will remain without Fuchi Honda, who has been sidelined with a torn meniscus for over a year, and Yoshiki Narahara who has had a cruciate ligament injury for 11 months.

Experienced goalkeeper Masahiro Okamoto, will also be missing as he is only expected to return from a calf injury by August.

The team's leading scorer in the league, Marcelo Ryan, has missed the last two matches, and is not sure to feature on Sunday.

Sanfrecce remain without midfielder Takumu Kawamura and centre-Back Taichi Yamasaki, who are both suffering from ligament damage.

Ohashi scored his 10th league goal last time out, the most by any Sanfrecce player this season, making him the man to watch out for.

Sagan Tosu possible starting lineup:
Park; Harada, Yamazaki, Kimura, Sakaiya; Fukuta, Kikuchi; Togashi, Horigome, Yokoyama; Araujo

Sanfrecce Hiroshima possible starting lineup:
Osako; Nakano, Araki, Sasaki; Arai, Shiotani, Nakajima, Higashi; Ohashi, Mitsuta; Sotiriou

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We say: Sagan Tosu 0-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Before the previous matchday, Sagan appeared to be the team with some good momentum, while Sanfrecce were struggling. However, the tables have turned, and both history and momentum now favour the away side.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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