Recent form has been terrible, with a big loss to Sendai in the last round and three points given away before that, both of which were also at home. It's now only one game ahead and in the bottom four. The team has scored 23 goals and conceded 47, the same as Ryukyu with the most goals scored.
With 11 wins, 6 draws and 10 losses, the team is in eighth place with 39 points and still in the race for the top six. The loss to their direct rivals in the last round has resulted in a loss of initiative in the fight for the promotion play-off places as they are now only in eighth place.
The two sides met twice this year, with Machida winning narrowly in the league and Iwate winning 3-1 in the Emperor's Cup last month. Iwate's home record is very poor, 3 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses ranked 19th, Machida's away record is not much better, 4 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses ranked 17th, only in the last two rounds of away wins. With the comparison of their head-to-head records, Machida doesn't have much of an advantage. I don't think it's easy to cash in on a big away handicap.
