Thursday, June 19

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Sports Mole previews Saturday's J1 League clash between Cerezo Osaka and Tokyo Verdy, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Both Cerezo Osaka and Tokyo Verdy will be bidding to return to winning ways in Japan's top flight when they lock horns on Saturday.

Cerezo Osaka are currently eighth in the J1 League table, picking up 30 points from their opening 21 matches of the campaign, while Tokyo Verdy are 14th, six points behind their opponents in this match.

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Match preview

Cerezo Osaka are in strong form in the league, losing just one of their last eight fixtures in Japan's top flight, while they have picked up eight points from their last four fixtures.

Arthur Papas's side drew 2-2 with Tokyo FC in the league last time out, while they recorded a 4-2 victory over Shimizu S-Pulse in their last fixture in front of their own fans at the start of the month.

Cerezo Osaka beat Arterivo 5-0 in the Emperor Cup on June 11, meanwhile, so they will enter this match in impressive form and seeking a ninth league success of the campaign.

The home side have a record of eight wins, six draws and seven defeats from their 21 league matches this season to collect 30 points, which has left them in eighth, four points off third position.

Tokyo Verdy, meanwhile, currently sit in 14th spot in the table, with 24 points from 20 matches this season being collected courtesy of a record of six wins, six draws and eight defeats.

Hiroshi Jofuku's team will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 defeat to Kashiwa Reysol, but they have still managed to pick up four points from their last three games at this level of football.

Verdy finished in sixth position in Japan's top flight last year, so there has been a drop-off this term, and they currently sit nine points off sixth spot in this season's table.

The visitors have been the draw specialists on their travels this season, sharing the points in five of their 10 league games away from their own stadium, recording just two wins in the process.

Cerezo Osaka J1 League form:

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Cerezo Osaka form (all competitions):

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Tokyo Verdy J1 League form:

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Tokyo Verdy form (all competitions):

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Team News

Rafael Ratao has been in impressive goalscoring form for Cerezo this season, finding the back of the net on 13 occasions in 17 appearances, and he will again feature in the final third of the field.

There will also be another spot in the XI for Thiago Andrade, who has scored six times this term, while Lucas Fernandes is set to be a notable starter for the home side this weekend.

As for Tokyo Verdy, Goki Yamada is out of the match due to an injury problem.

The visitors have not reported any fresh fitness issues, and there are not expected to be any major surprises when it comes to their starting side for this contest.

Kosuke Saito and Yuta Arai are set to be among the attacking starters for the away side.

Cerezo Osaka possible starting lineup:

Fukui; Okuda, Nishio, Hatanaka, Noborizato; Kagawa, Kida; Fernandes, Bueno, Andrade; Ratao

Tokyo Verdy possible starting lineup:

Vidotto; Tsunashima, Taniguchi, Miyahara; Onaga, Saito, Morita, Arai; Hirakawa, Yamami, Shirai

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We say: Cerezo Osaka 2-1 Tokyo Verdy

 

Tokyo Verdy are capable of making this a tricky match for Cerezo, but the home side have so much quality in the final third of the field, and we are backing them to secure all three points on Saturday.

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

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