Kashima Antlers vs Yokohama F. Marinos

Stranded nine points below the top three, Yokohama F. Marinos head to Kashima Soccer Stadium to encounter current runners-up Kashima Antlers.

Eight-time J1 League champions Kashima Antlers are firmly in the race for their first league title since 2016 after a three-game winning streak steered them within a three-point distance of table-topping Machida. Particularly dominant at Kashima Soccer Stadium, the hosts are the only J1 League team yet to lose a home league game this season (W5, D2). However, they’ve lacked conviction, with four of those five triumphs coming by a single-goal margin and three yielding an identical 1-0 scoreline. Against this low-scoring backdrop, Kashima’s recent top-flight fixtures have produced plenty of entertainment, with six of their last eight featuring over 2.5 goals and both sides on the scoresheet. That same theme has highlighted four of the five most recent J1 League meetings between these two teams at this venue.

Visiting Yokohama Marions were on the receiving end of a goal-glutted scoreline on their last travel, suffering a 5-1 defeat at Al-Ain in the return leg of their AFC Champions League final. That dreadful loss bookended the visitors’ dismal six-game winless run on the road (D2, L4), during which they conceded 2+ goals on four occasions. It’s been a disappointing league campaign for Yokohama thus far, albeit a glimmer of light appeared in the previous round as they thrashed Kashiwa Reysol 4-0 at home to halt a six-game winless streak in the top-flight (D4, L2). Keen to post back-to-back J1 League victories for the first time since early April, Harry Kewell’s men take on a Kashima side they’ve beaten in their last four league H2Hs.