FC Machida Zelvia are top of the league, while Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo are second from the bottom, making their face-off on Saturday absolutely massive. The clash is set to take place at 19:00 JST and will be shown live on JLeague.co and broadcasters around the world.

Zelvia’s debut J1 season has been nothing short of remarkable, with Machida a title front-runner from the very first match of the campaign. Manager Go Kuroda's side have weathered pressure from the championship-chasing pack and currently sit in pole position as we head down the home stretch of the 2024 season.

With just eight matchweeks left to go, every point now is crucial, and Zelvia look to be hitting form again at the right time. With just 22 goals conceded in 30 matches, Machida are exceptionally difficult to score on and the goals are flying in again at the other end; following a late-summer scoring drought, they delivered a 3-0 win in Fukuoka last weekend.

It’s been a very different season in Sapporo, where Consadole sunk to the drop zone in Matchweek 2 and haven’t exited it since. Nevertheless, things are looking up. The Northern Owls recently put together a three-match win streak, which took them out of last place and now just seven points separate them from safety.

There’s a lot of work left to do for Consadole, which is why every match is so crucial now, but they have hope. Long a leaky defensive club that found success by out-scoring opponents, Consadole couldn’t afford the attacking slumps they went through this season, but they seem to have found a groove lately.

The likes of Ryota Aoki, Supachok Sarachat, and Musashi Suzuki have been finding the net — and they will need to continue to if they have any hope of avoiding the drop down to J2.

Will Sapporo be able to keep it going and earn three gigantic points in the relegation fight? Or can Zelvia win to stay top of the table and move one step closer to an unforgettable title?

Find out live from Machida on JLeague.co!