Matchday 21 of the 2022 J1 League season gets underway this weekend. On Sunday, Cerezo Osaka welcome table-topping Yokohama Marinos to Kincho Stadium.
Yokohama Marinos sit five points clear of second-place Kashima Antlers and head into Sunday’s clash on a six-game winning streak in the league.
Review: Kashima Antlers 3-3 Cerezo Osaka (J1 MD20)https://t.co/8hR7CMgPuk#CerezoOsaka pic.twitter.com/kZIvi96tpI— Cerezo Osaka (@crz_english) July 7, 2022
Review: Kashima Antlers 3-3 Cerezo Osaka (J1 MD20)https://t.co/8hR7CMgPuk#CerezoOsaka pic.twitter.com/kZIvi96tpI
Meanwhile, Cerezo Osaka find themselves fifth – three points outside the top three and 12 points shy of Yokohama Marinos.
Cerezo Osaka come into this game on the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw with Kashima Antlers. Despite taking the lead on two occasions, they were unable to claim all three points.
It is worth noting, however, that Cerezo Osaka extend their unbeaten streak in all competitions to four games in midweek.
When you look at the bigger picture, Cerezo Osaka have only lost one of their previous 12 outings – picking up eight wins and three draws in the process.
Having won four of their past seven J1 League encounters, Cerezo Osaka will fancy their chances of upsetting the league leaders on Sunday.
As for Yokohama Marinos, they have lost just three of their 20 league outings this year – securing 13 wins and four draws along the way.
Not only are the league leaders the top scorers in the division (44), but they also boast one of the best defensive records (20).
In addition to winning each of their last six J1 League clashes, Yokohama Marinos have won seven of their previous eight matches across all competitions.
Having netted over 2.5 goals in four of their past five victories, Yokohama Marinos will be confident of notching another win this weekend.
Head-to-head: It’s safe to say that Cerezo Osaka have enjoyed playing against Yokohama Marinos in recent years.
Indeed, Cerezo Osaka have suffered a solitary defeat in their previous 19 meetings with Yokohama Marinos across all competitions.
More recently, Cerezo Osaka have won six of the last eight J1 League clashes between the teams, scoring, scoring over 1.5 goals on seven occasions.
Team news: Cerezo Osaka currently have four players sidelined through injury – Yusuke Maruhashi, Hinata Kida, Hiroshi Kiyotake and Ryosuke Yamanaka.
Meanwhile, Yokohama Marinos will be without Takuya Kida on Sunday as the midfielder continues to recover from a groin strain.
Although Cerezo Osaka are enjoying an impressive run of form at the moment, there is no hiding the fact that Yokohama Marinos are on a totally different level.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score over 1.5 goals on Sunday. However, Yokohama Marinos should have more than enough firepower to outscore Cerezo Osaka.