Yokohama F. Marinos vs Vissel Kobe

Yokohama F. Marinos and Vissel Kobe are set to square off in a high-stakes J1 League fixture at the Nissan Stadium.

It’s been a season of disappointments for Yokohama, who, in addition to exiting the AFC Champions League in the quarter-finals, must navigate troubled waters in the J1 League to avoid relegation to the second tier only three years since lifting their fifth top-flight title. That’s a feat they’ve never experienced in their club history. However, nailed to the bottom of the table after only winning one of their opening 15 league games (D5, L9), Patrick Kisnorbo’s men must find a way back to winning ways quickly as they trail 17th-placed Yokohama FC by a whopping ten points. A dreadful six-game losing J1 League streak spells trouble, especially considering they have lost their last three league outings without a reply, including a dismal 3-0 defeat to Kyoto on this ground over the weekend.

In the meantime, Vissel Kobe’s title-defending campaign hasn’t gone to plan, but they at least dispatched Gamba Osaka 3-2 at home last weekend to halt a two-game losing league streak. A 13-point deficit to table-topping Kashima Antlers looks unbridgeable, yet two games in hand give the visitors hope they could return to the title picture. Manager Takayuki Yoshida must find a recipe for Kobe’s notoriously inconsistent away showings. Despite winning half of their six league games on the road this term (W3, D1, L2), the reigning holders have struggled for goals, averaging just one per match thus far. In fact, barring a 2-1 win at Shonan Bellmare in mid-March, they’ve netted under 1.5 goals in all five remaining away league outings!