After a 2 1/2-month break due to the Sydney Olympics and the Asian Cup, the J. League's Division One resumes Wednesday night.
With five more games remaining in the second stage, a host of teams will be vying for the stage title and a berth in the J. League Championship Final (Dec. 2 and 9) against the first-stage winning Yokohama F. Marinos.
Others teams sitting at or near the bottom of the table will be fighting to avoid relegation to Division Two.