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Cerezo Osaka host city rivals Gamba Osaka at the Yanmar Stadium for the first leg of their J League Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The fixture comes just four days after both sides met in J1 League action, with Riku Matsuda scoring a 51st-minute strike to give Cerezo a 1-0 away win.
That victory helped the cherry blossoms move three points above their city rivals in 12th spot. Gamba Osaka are one place below on 30 points.
The second leg of the League Cup tie comes just four days later and both sides will give their all to secure progress to the semi-final of the competition.
Cerezo Osaka vs Gamba Osaka Head-to-Head
Gamba Osaka have 14 wins from their last 28 fixtures against their city rivals. Cerezo Osaka were victorious on six occasions while eight previous games ended in draws.
Their most recent meeting came on Saturday when Cerezo Osaka secured a 1-0 victory away from home.
The hosts have picked up three wins from their last five games in all competitions. Gamba Osaka have lost two games on the bounce.
Cerezo Osaka form guide (all competitions): W-L-W-W-L
Gamba Osaka form guide (all competitions): L-L-D-W-W
Cerezo Osaka vs Gamba Osaka Team News
Cerezo Osaka
Ryosuke Shindo and Ryuya Nishio have both been ruled out with fitness issues. Furthermore, Adam Taggart and Đang Van Lam have been called up by the Australian and Vietnamese national teams respectively for upcoming qualifiers.
Injury: Ryosuke Shindo, Ryuya Nishio
Suspension: None
Away on International duty: Adam Taggart, Đang Van Lam
Gamba Osaka
Gamba Osaka have four players ruled out with injuries. Haruto Shirai (cruciate ligament), Jun Ichimori (hamstring), Ryu Takao (ankle) and Wellington Silva (adductor) have all been sidelined by fitness issues.
Se-Jong Ju and Kim Young-gwon have been called up by the South Korean national team for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Injuries: Jun Ichimori, Wellington Silva, Haruto Shirai, Ryu Takao
Suspension: None
Away on international duty: Se-Jong Ju and Kim Young-gwon
Cerezo Osaka vs Gamba Osaka Predicted XI
Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jin-Hyeon Kim (GK); Yusuke Maruhashi, Ayumu Seko, Tiago Pagnussat, Riku Matsuda; Hiroshi Kiyotake, Naoyuki Fujita, Hiroaki Okuno; Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Mutsuki Kato, Yuta Toyokawa
Gamba Osaka Predicted XI (3-4-3): Masaaki Higashiguchi (GK); Hiroki Fujiharu, Shunya Suganuma, Genta Miura; Keisuke Kurokawa, Yuya Yamamoto, Kohei Okuno, Kosuke Onose; Takashi Usami, Shinya Yajima, Patric
Cerezo Osaka vs Gamba Osaka Prediction
Cerezo Osaka have been on a roll in recent weeks and will be buoyed by their derby victory over the weekend.
Gamba Osaka have what it takes to get the job done but we are predicting another narrow victory for the hosts.
Prediction: Cerezo Osaka 1-0 Gamba Osaka
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