Kashima Antlers – DF/MF Yamamura is with the Olympic team. DF / MF Koji Tanaka will be out for two months with a knee injury.

Jubilo Iwata – FW Baek is with Korea’s Olympic team. GK Kawaguchi is out for the season. FW Kanazono is out for at least another two months. MF Matsuoka is out for the season. MF Yamamoto out for a month, DF Cho out for a month from Aug.1st.

Since 2003 Jubilo have beaten Antlers just twice, while Antlers have 12 wins, with 5 draws. Those two Jubilo wins, though, have come in the last four meetings.

Kashima Antlers terrible start to the season has faded into the distance but they are still only six points off a relegation place and struggle to score goals. They SHOULD have no problem in pulling away from the relgation dogfight in the coming weeks, especially if forwards Osako and Koroki can increase the output from their partnership. Osako was disappointed to not be chosen for London 2012 but the fans have been happy with his goals, including two against Sanfrecce Hiroshima two games back. The team giving new coach Jorginho the benefit of the doubt after his bad start will stand the team in good stead for a better 2012, but they need to win games like this to ensure the fans are kept appeased.

Jubilo Iwata look to be punching above their weight right now and miss Baek big time – in London with Korea – and are also missing 3 or 4 other regulars, which does not help consistency of team selection. They have won only one of their last four but are still in touch with the leaders and are 2nd highest top scorers in J1 so can never be counted out of any game but I have a strong feeling that home advantage and the stinging defeat of Kashima Antlers to Sagan Tosu last week will swing the game the way of the home team.

EXPECT a WIN FOR KASHIMA ANTLERS!

Gamba Osaka – GK Kimura and DF Nakazawa are both out with broken legs. FW Kawanishi still regaining match fitness after a broken leg – not ready. DF Eduardo long term injury. The club signed DF Iwashita from S-Pulse on loan.

Cerezo Osaka – MFs Yamaguchi and Ogihara are with Olympic team and MF B K Kim is with Korea’s Olympic team. FW Sugimoto has officially returned to the club from a loan period at Tokyo Verdy, but is with the Olympic squad right now! MFs Kurogi and Maruhashi are suspended.

10 wins for Gamba, 3 for Cerezo, and three draws over the last decade or so. To note, though, two of those Cerezo wins have come in the last three meetings – earlier in J1 this season.

A win for Gamba Osaka here – on the back of a win over Omiya Ardija last weekend – will lift the club, in more ways than one. Another win will out the terrible start to the season behind them, bring them up to within a point of their neighbours, as well as putting pressure on Omiya and Niigata. The gain in confidence that two wins-in-a-row would do for Gamba Osaka would be immeasurable. Contrarily, a loss would quite possibly condemn Gamba to a relegation dogfight that they would not win. Leandro scored two goals against Omiya and could well have had 3 or 4 more with a little luck. A forward high in confidence and a defence on their toes due to the arrival of new blood all adds up to the recipe to win for Gamba.

Cerezo Osaka, on the other hand, have lost their complete midfield – Kiyotake and Kim transferred out, and Yamaguchi and Ogihara at London 2012 – AND some of their replacements are suspended for this game! Kakitani is firing on all cylinders, but one man does not make a team (and how long before he is looking for a move overseas, too!?). The trio of Olympic athletes returning for the next game may help cerezo pull away from the drop zone but, for this game, at least, they will struggle,

EXPECT a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA!

Yokohama F.Marinos – MF Saito is with the Olympic team. DF Amano is out for the season.

Albirex Niigata – MF Honma, FWs Bruno Lopes and Yano are suspended. DF Suzuki is with the Olympic team. DF Uchida out for the season. FW Musashi Suzuki out for three months. New CB/LB signed from Omiya Ardija – Tsubouchi.

9 wins for Marinos, 7 for Albirex and 5 draws over the last decade, all in J1 or the Nabisco Cup.

Yokohama F. Marinos are low scorers, but low conceders – the best defence in J1 and their position now, just 7 points off the top spot and on an impressive unbeaten run must seem like a miracle to fans who were calling for the head of the manager after a bad start to the season! If the likes of Marquinhos and Ono can stay fit and score goals, ably assisted by Oguro Marinos will continue to rise up the table and challenge for a top 6 spot. When Saito returns from the Olympics they’ll be even better but that’s another story! Today, with Albirex Niigata missing key players Bruno Lopes, last week’s point-winning goalscorer Yano and influential midfielder, as well as centre back Suzuki at London 2012, I can not see Albirex getting anything out of this match. The 2-0 win over FC Tokyo was merely a blip as this team head for relegation.

EXPECT a WIN for YOKOHAMA F. MARINOS!

Kawasaki Frontale – GK Ando is with the Olympic team. DF Morishita will be out for at least two months.

Sagan Tosu – DF Kitani out for at least another month.

7 wins for Frontale, 2 for Tosu and 1 draw – all in J2 until this year when Sagan won in the Nabsico Cup and Frontale won away in J1 play.
Kawasaki Frontale were held for a 2-2 draw by Jubilo Iwata last time out and are in a lull that has seen them lose at home to Vissel Kobe last month, and fight out a scoreless draw with S-Pulse before being outplayed by Sanfrecce in a 3-0 defeat. They have scored 28, and conceded 28 goals, so their need to score more and concede less is obvious. Yajima is their only “big” scorer, with six goals to his name. They have suffered a string of injuries and had to change the team selection a lot more often than they would have wanted, but players are returning to the team and this could help in the long run.

Sagan Tosu continue to confound their critics who expected the team – in their first season in J1 – to struggle. They have lost just once in their last five games – a pulsating, rain-soaked encounter with Urawa Reds that ended 4-3 after Tosu went 4-0 down, so anything can happen in their games, it seems! Many are waiting for the bubble to burst and, yet, technically they are only 7 points off the top spot, or 4 points away from an ACL place. There seems to be no way that this team are returning to J2 this season! A pleasant surprise to many I think they can hold Kawasaki today, also.

EXPECT a DRAW!