Gamba Osaka vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Relegation-threatened Gamba Osaka will be looking to bounce back from a rotten patch when they take on top-half J1 League high-flyers Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Since a hard-fought 1-0 triumph away to Kashiwa Reysol in mid-May, Gamba Osaka have turned on an ‘airplane mode.’ The hosts enter this round having lost four consecutive J1 League fixtures by an aggregate score of 8-3. But three of those defeats came by a single-goal margin, suggesting the ‘Black and Blues’ have enough fighting spirit to lift themselves out of jeopardy. With only two points separating them from safety, they still have realistic chances of avoiding relegation. Unfortunately, Gamba’s four-game home league form spells trouble (W1, D1, L2), especially considering they failed to score twice in that sequence.  On a more positive note, Tomohiro Katanosaka’s men have lost just one of their last four top-flight H2Hs as hosts (W2, D1).

As for Sanfrecce Hiroshima, an overwhelming 3-1 away triumph over Avispa Fukuoka last time out extended their winning league streak to four games. A rich vein of form has seen Hiroshima whittle down the gap on third-placed Kawasaki Frontale to four points. However, they can ill-afford to rest on their laurels, as Gamba have been a thorn in their side lately. Michael Skibbe’s team eked out a 2-1 victory in their most recent encounter to end a run of four winless league H2Hs (D2, L2). Despite Hiroshima’s 86% unbeaten away ratio this term, another success is far from a foregone conclusion. Indeed, they’ve only won two of their seven top-flight travels to date (D4, L1).