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Kitchee and Cerezo Osaka will trade tackles in the AFC Champions League on Friday.
Osaka were 5-0 victors over Guangzhou FC in their most recent fixture on Tuesday. Taishi Matsumoto and Matsuki Kato both scored braces in the rout.
Kitchee played out a 1-1 draw with Port MTI. Pakorn Parmpak and Matthew Orr scored first-half goals to ensure the spoils were shared.
The game will be a direct knockout match for top spot in Group J. Cerezo Osaka currently lead the way with 13 points garnered from five matches and just need a point to secure progress.
Kitchee are three points behind and need maximum points to guarantee qualification for the knockout round.
Kitchee vs Cerezo Osaka Head-to-Head
Cerezo Osaka picked up a 2-1 comeback victory in the first leg meeting between the sides. Adam Taggart and Tiago Pagnussat scored second-half goals for the Japanese outfit after Dejan Damjanovic had put Kitchee ahead in the first half.
The defeat was the only loss suffered by the Hong Kong side in their last six matches. Cerezo Osaka are currently on a seven-game unbeaten run.
Kitchee form guide: D-W-W-L-W
Cerezo Osaka form guide: W-W-D-W-W
Kitchee vs Cerezo Osaka Team News
Kitchee
Kitchee have Hong Kong international striker Alex Akande ruled out due to back problems. Furthermore, defender Helio Jose de Souza suffered a hamstring injury in the draw with Port and had to be stretchered off the field.
There are no suspension concerns for manager Alex Chu Chi Kwong.
Injuries: Alex Akande, Helio Jose de Souza
Suspension: None
Cerezo Osaka
There are no known injuries or suspension concerns for Cerezo Osaka.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Kitchee vs Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI
Kitchee Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Paulo Cesar (GK); Beto, Kin-Man Tong, Jun-hyeong Park, Beto; Yang Huang; Matthew Orr, Raul Baena, Cleiton, Tsz-Chun Law; Dejan Damjanovic
Cerezo Osaka Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Jin-Hyeun Kim (GK); Yusuke Maruhashi, Ayumu Seko, Tiago Pagnussat, Riku Matsuda; Riki Harakawa, Hiroaki Okuno; Motohiko Nakajima, Hiroshi Kiyotake, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto; Adam Taggart
Kitchee vs Cerezo Osaka Prediction
The two teams like to play on the front foot and are equally capable of getting a result here. Kitchee are more desperate for points and are likely to be more attack-minded, but their compact defense could curtail the threat posed by Osaka.
Ultimately, both sides are likely to cancel each other out with goals to be scored at both ends.
Prediction: Kitchee 1-1 Cerezo Osaka
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