J. League first-stage champions the Yokohama F. Marinos and second-stage winners the Kashima Antlers will face off today in the first leg of the J. League Championship final at Yokohama International Stadium. The second leg is slated for Dec. 9 at Tokyo's National Stadium.
In their head-to-head league matches, the Antlers lead the Marinos with an 11-2-9 record but are winless against Yokohama over the last two seasons with two draws and two losses.
In this year's Nabisco Cup, however, the Antlers beat the Marinos 2-1 in the first leg of the quarterfinals and drew 1-1 in the second leg on their way to victory in the tournament.