Machida Zelvia vs Yokohama F. Marinos

Machida GION Stadium is the venue as Machida Zelvia-Yokohama F. Marinos go head-to-head in an exciting J1 League encounter.

After back-to-back draws toward the end of June, J1 League leaders Machida have hit another purple patch, winning their last three league matches in a row to move five points clear at the top of the tree. Though their two victories in the build-up to this fixture came by an identical 1-0 scoreline, Machida will look for a more comprehensive success this weekend, especially after dispatching Yokohama 3-1 in June’s reverse fixture. However, low scoring has been a common theme in Machida’s last two J1 League home outings, with both seeing one or both teams fail to score in matches garnering under 1.5 total goals (W1, D1). A fast start is unlikely, with only four of Machida’s 11 home league games featuring a goal inside the opening 15 minutes.

In the meantime, Yokohama Marinos put Kashima Antlers to the sword last weekend, picking up a stunning 4-1 home win to arrest a dreadful four-game losing league streak and move closer to the upper half of the J1 League table. It was a dream victory for the Marinos ahead of the touchline debut of new manager John Hutchinson, who replaced Harry Kewell in the dugout earlier this week. However, Hutchinson’s first game takes Yokohama to the road, with the visitors bidding to defy a disastrous run of three defeats in their last four away league matches (W1). Each of those three losses alarmingly saw Yokohama concede 2+ goals, highlighting a porous backline as the team’s weakest link.