Head Coach Tomokazu MYOJIN : "We'll be playing against league leaders Machida away from home, but there's nothing to be intimidated by. We want to play our own style of football and show that we can compete well. Machida has individual talent, including in their forward line, so we'll need to prevent them from showcasing their strengths, both individually and as a group and as a team. Also, Machida's fundamental strengths lie in set pieces, height, and crosses, so in defense, we really need to not give them a single opening. Of course, to win, we need to score goals, so we'll focus on our attack and play with high concentration."

GK1 Masaaki HIGASHIGUCHI : "Machida has always had a strong defensive image, but now they've added ball possession to that, and they're surprisingly good at connecting passes and picking up second balls from long balls, so I think their defense is more effective now. I think they've become very tactically adept, and above all, the sense of security that comes from being able to score goals is building their confidence, so in that sense, I think they're a team that deserves to be at the top of the table. However, beating the top team would give us confidence, and it would only be a plus for Gamba, so we want to approach it with a challenger's spirit. It will be a tough match, but we have to get points, and to get points, we have to give it our all. I want to make saves that will allow us to withstand the pressure at crucial moments."

FW11 ISSAM JEBALI : "I think Machida is a team that plays with solid organization, and I don't think they'll be an easy opponent. I think their seven consecutive clean sheets in official matches are due to their organizational solidity and the way they fight as one. The key to the match will be how we can score against such an opponent without conceding any goals. You never know what's going to happen in this sport. Nothing is certain, so even if we concede first, we can just get it back, and I think if we can show what we've been working on, we can hurt Machida as well. To that end, we want to focus on what we need to do. We've been far from three points, but we want to beat Machida and grab those three points. Above all, we want to win."