Two teams at opposite ends of the J1 League table clash on Saturday when title-hunting Kashima Antlers take on bottom-of-the-league Consadole Sapporo at the Kashima Soccer Stadium.
The hosts sit second in the league and trail league-leaders Machida Zelvia by five points, while the visitors have just 11 points from 21 matches, leaving them nine points adrift of safety.
Match preview
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Kashima Antlers come into this game not only in the chase for the title, currently trailing the league leaders by five points, but also battling to keep their place inside the top two.
Third-placed Gamba Osaka are behind them only on goal difference, while a further six teams are within just six points of their position, largely owing to a recent downturn in form from Ranko Popovic's men.
After a disappointing opening to the season, Kashima Antlers sat ninth on matchday eight, but Popovic's side quickly put together a run of 11 matches without defeat that saw them rapidly rise into second place.
More recently that run saw the hosts draw three-in-a-row before eventually falling to defeat against fourth-placed Vissel Kobe, a disappointing spell without victory that has allowed teams below them to make up ground.
Japan's most successful club now have the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways and continue battling for both a top-three finish and their record-extending ninth title as they come up against Consadole, who sit at the bottom of the table and have lost in all of their last seven league outings.
A victory for relegation rivals Sagan Tosu in their game in hand has left Mihailo Petrovic's side nine points adrift of safety, leaving them in desperate need of a run of results.
That will be a tough ask for Consadole in their upcoming matches, though, as they are set to face second-placed Kashima Antlers on Saturday before hosting fourth-placed Vissel Kobe in the following fixture.
While Petrovic's men have been extremely disappointing in the league they remain in both cup competitions and Petrovic will be hoping his team can replicate their cup form in the coming weeks as they aim to extend their current eight-year stay in the division.
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Team News
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The hosts were without top scorer Yuma Suzuki, who has 10 goals in 20 league appearances, for their defeat to Vissel Kobe as the striker served a suspension, but Suzuki should return for this one.
A disappointing performance in that defeat could lead Popovic to make wholesale changes as he looks for a much-improved display this time around, meaning players such as Tomoya Fujii and Shu Morooka may be given a chance from the start.
As for the visitors, they are expected to remain without Yuya Asano in the forward areas with the attacker still yet to return from an injury he sustained in Consadole's last league victory.
They are also set to be without Toya Nakamura after the defender was forced off with injury late on in the game against Albirex Niigata, leaving Yamato Okada likely to replace him.
Kashima Antlers possible starting lineup:
Hayakawa; Nono, Ueda, Sekigawa, Anzai; Sano, Chinen; Morooka, Nago, Fujii; Suzuki
Consadole Sapporo possible starting lineup:
Sugeno; Takao, Ieizumi, Okada; Tanaka, Baba, Komai, Suga; Kobayashi, Hasegawa; Omori
We say: Kashima Antlers 2-0 Consadole Sapporo
Kashima Antlers may be without a victory in any of their last four league matches but they come into this one as strong favourites to record a victory as Consadole have failed to score in any of their last four and have lost all of their last seven in the J1 League.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
