Gamba Osaka are winners of two league matches in a row and up to sixth in the table, and they’ll be hoping to keep that good run of J1 form going on Sunday at 15:00 JST when they take on Kashima Antlers in a match that will be shown live on JLeague.co and broadcasters around the world.
The Black and Blue of Osaka struggled mightily in the midweek, losing a heartbreaker in the J.League YBC Levain Cup to FC Ryukyu of J3. It was a humbling defeat, but manager Dani Poyatos will be looking at Sunday's match as a chance to right the ship and continue what has been an excellent J1 campaign thus far.
The Gamba defense has led the way all season, having only once conceded more than one goal in a game. They’re phenomenally well organized and quick to the tackle, ensuring that they snuff out opposing attacks before they become dangerous.
Getting enough goal scoring to turn that excellent defending into wins has been a challenge at times, but the emergence of Isa Sakamoto in recent weeks may solve that. The 20-year-old #NextGenJLEAGUE star has scored in each of the last two matches, while also creating several opportunities for teammates.
Kashima have every intention of slowing down Sakamoto and Gamba, though. They’ve stumbled of late, with three losses in their last four, but are still in the top half of the table with a rearguard that has at times stifled some of J1's strongest attacks.
Antlers’ problem recently has been an attack that had scored just once in three matches before their 4-2 loss to Sagan Tosu last week. While it was encouraging to see the frontline find their footing a bit, it required a very open game in which they were chasing late.
With Yuma Suzuki leading the line, Kashima are always a threat to turn a game on its head, but putting a complete performance together on both attacking and defensive ends will be essential in Suita.
Can Kashima get the balance right and slow down Gamba? Or will the Black and Blue leave Kashima further bruised on their difficult run?
Find out live on Sunday at 15:00 JST!
