Kashima Antlers and Gamba Osaka lock horns at the Kashima Stadium in their J League Cup group stage fixture on Saturday.The two sides are winless in two games so far, with the hosts occupying last place in Group A and the visiting side in third place.Kashima have enjoyed better league form than the visitors and are in third place in the J League standings. They made it three wins in a row with a 2-1 victory over Shonan Bellmare last Saturday.Gamba Osaka have struggled to hit their stride this season and have just one win to their name. They suffered a 3-2 loss at home to Avispa Fukuoka last Saturday, extending their winless run to four games across all competitions.J.LEAGUE Official EN@J_League_EnRené Weiler led Kashima Antlers to a 2-1 victory in his first match as a J.League boss! - J.LEAGUE - All Rights Reserved #jleague11:20 AM · Mar 23, 202225032René Weiler led Kashima Antlers to a 2-1 victory in his first match as a J.League boss! -© J.LEAGUE - All Rights Reserved #jleague https://t.co/z7dahBhiFjKashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka Head-to-HeadThe two sides have squared off 82 times across all competitions. With a win in half of these fixtures, the Antlers have been the better side against their Western rivals.Nerazzurri have been able to get the better of the hosts 26 times while the spoils have been shared 15 times between the two rivals. In the 10 J League Cup meetings between the two sides so far, the story is similar, with Kashima leading 5-3 in wins while two games have ended in draws.They last met in the opening fixtures of the J1 League 2022 campaign at the Panasonic Stadium Suita. Kashima secured a 3-1 win, which was their third win in a row against the visitors.Kashima Antlers form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-W-LGamba Osaka form guide (all competitions): L-D-D-D-WKashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka Team NewsKashima AntlersNaoki Hayashi is the only injury concern for the hosts as he is yet to make an appearance in the 2022 campaign so far. Ayase Ueda, who has scored four goals across all competitions this season, is currently with Japan for the World Cup qualifiers and remains unavailable for selection.Injury: Naoki HayashiDoubtful: NoneSuspension: NoneUnavailable: Ayase UedaGamba OsakaTakashi Usami has not played in over a month for the club with an injury, while Masaaki Higashiguchi is yet to make an appearance this season and is an absentee for the visiting side.Kwon Kyung-won was called up by South Korea for their World Cup qualifying fixtures and remains unavailable for selection here.ガンバ大阪オフィシャル@GAMBA_OFFICIAL3/26（土）JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ グループステージ 第3節 鹿島戦 試合情報 #ガンバ大阪 #GAMBAOSAKA gamba-osaka.net/news/index/no/…8:30 AM · Mar 24, 2022148183/26（土）JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ グループステージ 第3節 鹿島戦 試合情報 #ガンバ大阪 #GAMBAOSAKA gamba-osaka.net/news/index/no/…Dawhan received his visa-related clearance earlier this week and is in contention to start here.Injury: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Takashi UsamiDoubtful: NoneSuspension: NoneUnavailable: Kwon Kyung-wonKashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka Predicted XIKashima Antlers Predicted XI (4-4-2): Kwoun Sun-tae (GK); Koki Anzai, Kento Misao, Ikuma Sekigawa, Keigo Tsunemoto; Ryuji Izumi, Pituca, Juan Alano, Shoma Doi; Yuma Suzuki, Ryotaro ArakiGamba Osaka Predicted XI (3-4-3): Kei Ishikawa (GK); Ko Yanagisawa, Gen Shoji, Ryu Takao; Keisuke Kurokawa, Shu Kurata, Se-Jong Ju, Kosuke Onose; Patric, Hideki Ishige, Leandro Pereira$50 Risk-Free Bet + up to $1,000 Deposit Match at DraftKings SBKashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka PredictionThe hosts have enjoyed a good run against the visiting side and are the favorites here. Though they have outscored them 8-7 in league fixtures, they boast a much better defensive record, conceding four goals against the nine conceded by Gamba Osaka.While the Antlers are expected to miss the services of their top-scorer Ueda, they have enough quality in their ranks to secure a narrow win here.Prediction: Kashima Antlers 2-1 Gamba Osaka