Yokohama F. Marinos – DF Amano is a long term injury victim.
Gamba Osaka – DF Eduardo – who has still not played for the team is out for a few more months with a broken leg! RB Kaji out for six weeks. FW Kawanishi is approaching return from a broken leg.

Over the last decade Marinos have registered ten wins to Gamba’s eight, with six draws.

After a dire start and calls for the head of coach Higuchi, Yokohama F. Marinos (P11 W4 D4 L3 GD +2) have won four games in a row and will be looking for blood. No-one is really sure what has turned the team around but some believe the return of old boy (in more ways than one) Marquinos to the team, after his season start was delayed by injury (or the fact that Oguro is on the bench?) is a good pointer to a new Marinos! Those four wins have included Reds and Sanfrecce away and they will probably be quietly confident that they can take out a struggling Gamba!

Gamba Osaka (P10 W2 D2 L6 GD -9) endured a worse start than Marinos, switched the coaching team and had a short rise in fortune but are currently sitting last but one and even winning their game in hand would only take them up one place! They have had their injury problems and they continue to mount with right back Kaji being added to that list but if coach Matsunami can find the right combination of the up and coming youngsters with the experience of the likes of Endo, Myojin and Futagawa, Gamba will salvage their season, consolidate and rebuild for 2013. That’s as much as they can realistically hope for this season, for sure. Last time out they had top team Vegalta Sendai relying on a late equaliser to take home a point and they will take encouragement from that and I fancy them to end Yokohama’s impressive winning run. EXPECT a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA!