With the momentum of the Nagoya match, where they overwhelmed their opponents in both offense and defense, they faced Mito in the J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP with Humet and Nawada in the front line. On the back line, Higashiguchi was guarding the goalmouth, and they faced a turnover situation, but they beat Mito after extra time.
Gamba won with a clean sheet against Mito, who were aiming for a counter attack, and now their next goal is to make a comeback in the league.
"The league is a close race, so if we can win consecutive games, we'll see a different picture," said Nakatani, and the league is more close than usual, with Gamba currently in 13th place. However, since the gap in points between them and the top teams is small, the match against Yokohama FC is a must-win.

Gamba fought the Mito match for 120 minutes in extra time, but with consecutive away games on the horizon, "We are thinking about changing the members. We want to think about it because we are afraid of losing players to injury," said Head Coach Poyatos, conscious of management during the consecutive games.
On the other hand, no matter who is on the pitch, the direction Gamba is currently heading in remains the same. Suzuki said, "Our current characteristics were evident in the football we played against Nagoya," and Kurokawa emphasized, "Even though we were away, we need to keep possession of the ball like we did in the Nagoya match in order to bring out the best in our current team."

The Nagoya match reaffirmed the effectiveness of football that increases ball possession. With the consecutive matches coming up in the warmer months, there is no doubt that this is the direction that Head Coach Poyatos is aiming for this season, but that is why Gamba's true worth will be tested in the match against Yokohama FC.
"It's important to break down the opponent's front line press and see how much we can get the flow of the game in our favor," said Head Coach Poyatos, wary of the opponents' intensity.
There is no doubt that the opposition will try to eliminate the defensive midfielders, who are the lifeline of Gamba's build-up and ball possession, but Fukuoka has spoken of the idea of ​​taking advantage of Yokohama FC's strengths by "moving the ball in the opposite direction from the side where Yamada is."

It goes without saying that ball possession will be important, but many of the players said that the key to the match against Yokohama FC will be second balls. "They have big players up front, and while they will try to keep the ball, they will also use long balls from the back. We need to be careful of second balls" (Ichimori ). Yokohama FC will use highly accurate kicks to the front from GK Ichikawa and Fukumori, who formerly played for Gamba, and make use of the mobility of Yamada and Suzuki, so "we need to make sure we don't lose to the opponent's long balls. It's important to win the first tussle, and recovering the second ball will also be key," Fukuoka said.
Sakuragawa and Yamada at the forefront have each scored two goals, but it will also be important to block Fukumori, the source of the ball.

Newly promoted Yokohama FC is currently in 15th place, but is only two points behind Gamba. They have been in good form with one win and one draw in their last two games, so they are definitely an opponent to be reckoned with.
For Yamashita, who used to play for Yokohama FC, this is a match against his old club, but it's easy to get into the zone because the stands are so close. He's full of energy for the second consecutive league match, saying, "I want to shake that goal net." Although it's a series of away games, Gamba will go for the win with this season's style.