Saturday, July 5

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Sports Mole previews Saturday's J1 League clash between Machida Zelvia and Shimizu S-Pulse, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Machida Zelvia play host to Shimizu S-Pulse on Saturday looking to stay within touching distance of the top five in the J1 League table.

At a time when the home side sit in eighth position, the visitors are down in 14th spot and at increasing risk of being pulled into a relegation scrap.

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Match preview

After last season's third-placed finish, Machida Zelvia will be disappointed to only be inside the top half of the standings by a matter of points after 22 matches.

However, three successive victories means that their form is on an upward trajectory, Go Kuroda easing any pressure that was growing on his job.

On the back of 2-1 wins over Shonan Bellmare and leaders Kashima Antlers, a 4-0 triumph was posted against Albirez Niigata.

While making gradual progress up the table will be their aim, Machida now sit just seven points adrift of top spot.

Yuki Soma scored two of the four goals in the previous match, the playmaker taking his tally for the campaign to six strikes.

Shimizu S-Pulse's priority for the season has always been survival given that they earned promotion to the top flight in 2024.

Nevertheless, prevailing just once in nine matches has set them back across the last two months, despite the 3-2 victory coming over third-placed Vissel Kobe.

A total of six points have been collected from the aforementioned period, the last game against second-placed Kashiwa Reysol ending in a 2-0 defeat.

Tadahiro Akiba now needs to find a way to kick-start their season in order to avoid a relegation battle. As it stands, they sit eight points clear of the bottom three.

Machida Zelvia J1 League form:

 

Shimizu S-Pulse J1 League form:

 

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Team News

Barring any fitness issues, Kuroda has no reason to make any changes to his Machida starting lineup.

Each of his three attackers got on the scoresheet against Albirex, Shota Fujio finding netting his first J1 League goal of the season at the 20th attempt.

Having given a solid account of themselves against Kashiwa, Shimizu may also line up with the same XI.

Hikaru Nakahara could be drafted back into the team on the right flank or final third if Akiba is insistent on freshening things up.

Machida Zelvia possible starting lineup:

Tani; Shoji, Kikuchi, Okamura; Mochizuki, Shimoda, Mae, Hayashi; Soma, Nishimura; Fujio

Shimizu S-Pulse possible starting lineup:

Oki; Sumiyoshi, Brunetti, Hasukawa; Nakahara, Bueno, Uno, Capixaba; Matsuzaki, Inui; Kitagawa

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We say: Machida Zelvia 3-1 Shimizu S-Pulse

 

Although there are only seven points separating the two sides in the table, the recent form is at different ends of the spectrum. With that in mind, we can only predict a convincing victory for the home side, strengthening their bid for a top-five place.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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