Two teams fighting to escape the relegation zone in the J1 League table will do battle in a key contest on Sunday, as Shonan Bellmare welcome Kyoto Sanga to the Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka.
In the midst of a five-match winless streak, the hosts have dropped to 18th spot in Japan's top flight, one point ahead of their visitors and one adrift of safety.
Match preview
![Shonan Bellmare's Lukian on March 17, 2024 [Imago]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/26/lukian.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Shonan Bellmare's Lukian on March 17, 2024 [Imago]")
© Imago
Shonan Bellmare return to action on Sunday with the aim of ending a recent rut and climbing out of the J1 League drop zone after a tough first half to the domestic campaign.
From their 20 top-flight outings thus far, the Hiratsuka outfit have earned just 16 points, winning three of those games while suffering 10 defeats, with the most recent victory coming at home to Albirex Niigata in mid-May.
Since that latest triumph, Satoshi Yamaguchi's side have collected just two more points from five further attempts, firstly suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Jubilo Iwata and Gamba Osaka.
Then following a 1-1 draw away at Nagoya Grampus and a 1-0 loss at home to FC Tokyo, they most recently visited Kawasaki Frontale on Wednesday, and after falling behind to a Marcinho goal on the hour mark, they were at least able to leave with a share of the spoils as Satoshi Tanaka levelled the scores at a goal apiece 12 minutes from time.
That result saw Shonan Bellmare move back within a point of Sagan Tosu in 17th spot in the J1 League, and they will now be desperate to end their winless streak and move out of the bottom three with a return to winning ways on Sunday to kickstart an improvement.
The visitors, meanwhile, will set out to leapfrog the hosts and strengthen their own standing in the fight for survival on Sunday, having bridged the gap between the two teams in recent weeks.
Following a creditable 13th-placed finish in their second season back in the J1 League last year, Kyoto Sanga have endured a particularly difficult first half to the new campaign, as they sat at the foot of the table after 15 matches with just nine points on the board following a run of five consecutive defeats in May.
The Purple Sanga have moved into a more competitive position with a slightly improved run since, though, firstly ending the losing run with consecutive 1-1 draws against Nagoya Grampus and Gamba Osaka, before recording a third three-point haul of the campaign as Temma Matsuda and Yuta Toyokawa fired them to a 2-0 home win over Consadole Sapporo with first-half goals.
That set up a six-pointer against fellow strugglers Sagan Tosu last weekend, but Cho Kwi-jae left empty-handed following a disappointing 3-0 beating, before most recently hosting Kashiwa Reysol on Wednesday and being held to a draw in agonising fashion, having twice led through Yuto Misao and Sota Kawasaki, only for Matheus Savio to level the game at two goals apiece in the sixth minute of injury time.
While they are bound to be left wounded by the manner of their midweek result, keeping them two points adrift of safety, Kyoto Sanga can take encouragement from their recent improvement and will look to bounce back to winning ways on Sunday to move ahead of their hosts with the chance to escape the bottom three if other results go their way.
Team News
Shonan Bellmare will likely be forced into a change to their starting XI from their midweek draw with Kawasaki Frontale, with Kosuke Onose forced off in the first half of that game, and he will likely join Taiyo Hiraoka and Kim Min-tae in the treatment room.
In his expected absence, Taiga Hata will start on the left-hand side in their 3-5-2 setup, while Masaki Ikeda and Naoki Yamada should again operate ahead of Satoshi Tanaka in the midfield.
Lukian will continue to lead their line, having notched up a team-high tally of nine goals so far this term, while Sho Fukuda, who has managed seven of his own, will hope to displace Akito Suzuki and join the Brazilian up top from the start.
Kyoto Sanga will remain without key defender Shogo Asada on Sunday due to a ligament injury picked up in mid-June, meaning Hisashi Appiah Tawiah and Yoshinori Suzuki should again partner up in the middle of their back four.
Sota Kawasaki will continue to play a key role in the midfield after getting on the scoresheet in their 2-2 draw with Kashiwa Reysol last time out, with Temma Matsuda and Taiki Hirato likely joining him again in the centre of their 4-3-3 setup.
At the top end of the pitch, Taichi Hara and top scorer Yuta Toyokawa should again feature alongside Ryogo Yamasaki, who is still looking to open his account for the season in the J1 League.
Shonan Bellmare possible starting lineup:
Song; Tachi, Ono, J Suzuki; Y Suzuki, Ikeda, Tanaka, Yamada, Hata; Lukian, Fukuda
Kyoto Sanga possible starting lineup:
Gu; Fukuda, Appiah Tawiah, Suzuki, Misao; Hirato, Kawasaki, Matsuda; Toyokawa, Yamasaki, Hara
We say: Shonan Bellmare 1-1 Kyoto Sanga
Heading into a true six-pointer in the J1 League fight for survival, even at this relatively early stage, we anticipate a cagey encounter on Sunday and see a share of the points as the most likely outcome with both teams desperate to avoid a harmful defeat.
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