FC Meralco Manila, JPV Marikina FC set for midweek battle

Dan Padernal, Takashi Odawara, Lee Jeongmin,Pong Liman

With the international break coming, both JPV Marikina FC and FC Meralco Manila seek to head into it with a positive result with their Philippines Football League matchup at 4pm.

Although the game will be at the home ground of FC Meralco Manila, due to the still unavailability of JPV's home pitch, the Sparks are designated as the road team for this particular fixture.

FC Meralco Manila is heading into the matchup with four straight victories, and five of its last six matches. Even though they are fresh from a narrow 1-0 victory over Ilocos United, assistant coach Pong Liman isn't that much concerned with the short layoff.

The Sparks will not have Connor Tacagni due to suspension but Liman says there are guys who can step up in his absence.

As for JPV, they have not yet lost in three matches since their four-game losing skid. Head coach Dan Padernal says there have been signs of improvement over the past few weeks. Considering their last loss against the Sparks was due to a set piece situation, Padernal seeks improvement from that particular aspect into this upcoming matchup. This is something team skipper Takashi Odawara also is seeking to fix.

FC Meralco Manila is toting a 10-point lead over both Kaya FC-Makati and Global Cebu FC, and is seeking to build a large enough gap against Ceres-Negros FC, who has five games in hand. Meanwhile, JPV Marikina FC is seeking to remain within striking distance to the top half of the league.