Sunday, July 6

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Sports Mole previews Saturday's J1 League clash between Vissel Kobe and Shonan Bellmare, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Vissel Kobe will continue their hunt for a third straight J1 League title in matchday 23 of the current campaign when they face off against Shonan Bellmare on Saturday.

The hosts are in the ascendancy after winning five of their last six matches across all competitions, but the visitors will head to the Noevir Stadium in search of a first league win in six matches.

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Match preview

Having seen Kashima Antlers suffer a shock 2-1 defeat to Okayama four days earlier, Vissel Kobe had a chance to narrow the gap at the top to just one point, and they just about managed to do that courtesy of a 1-0 triumph over Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Erik's sixth goal of the season, just shy of the midway point of the second period, was enough to hand Takayuki Yoshida's men all three points and move them up to 40 points from 22 league matches this term.

Like most of their fellow title challengers, the Ushis have been far from their best at the top end of the pitch, managing just 28 goals so far, although their defensive solidity has more than made up for this.

Vissel Kobe will now be looking to keep the pressure up on Kashima and Kashiwa with another win, and their record against this weekend's opponents hints at a positive outcome with three straight wins and five from the most recent six meetings.

Saturday's game is the second of a five-game slate for the hosts this month that concludes with a friendly matchup against Barcelona, but before then, they have assignments against Kofu and Okayama to navigate across league and cup duty.

Shonan Bellmare started the season unbeaten in each of their opening five games, managing 11 points from a possible 15, and they looked set to improve on their 15th-place finish in the 2024 campaign.

However, Satoshi Yamaguchi's men lost their subsequent three league matches, which kicked off a downward spiral over the next three months that has seen them drop down to 17th in the league standings.

A 1-1 stalemate against Yokohama F Marinos last time out was Shonan's first league point in three matches, leaving them just four points clear of the drop zone, albeit with a game in hand on the bottom three.

The Hiratsuka-based outfit will need to up their attacking output if they are to pull well clear of relegation danger in the coming weeks, as their tally of 16 goals scored so far currently ranks third-lowest.

Off the back of three straight matches in front of their fans, Saturday's visitors are back on enemy territory, where they have lost three of their last four either side of a 2-0 win over Tokyo Verdy back in May.

Vissel Kobe J1 League form:

Vissel Kobe form (all competitions):

Shonan Bellmare J1 League form:

Shonan Bellmare form (all competitions):

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Team News

Yoshinori Muto is yet to return from a back issue and remains unavailable, while Jean Patric is set to miss game number three on the bounce since coming off injured against Kawasaki Frontale.

Eighteen-year-old Kento Hamasaki is currently facing an extended spell out of action with a knee problem alongside fellow Japanese Niina Tominaga.

Tatsunari Nagai (calf) and Soki Tamura (thigh) are both guaranteed absentees for Shonan Bellmare, who are already without Ze Ricardo and Junnosuke Suzuki.

Sena Ishibashi remains out of contention with a muscle problem, and the midfielder is not expected to be back in action anytime soon for the away side.

Vissel Kobe possible starting lineup:

Maekawa; Nagato, Thuler, Yamakawa, Kawasaki; Ogihara, Ideguchi, Miyashiro; Erik, Sasaki, Yuruki

Shonan Bellmare possible starting lineup:

Sanada; J Suzuki, Ono, Y Suzuki; Fujii, Barada, Hata, Onose, Hiraoka; A Suzuki, Fukuda

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We say: Vissel Kobe 2-0 Shonan Bellmare

 

Given Shonan's attacking deficiencies, we can see them drawing a blank here en route to a routine defeat come the end of the 90 minutes.

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

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