Suwon FC have outscored their Gangwon Province counterparts but the suspended Lars Veldwijk has been involved in 14 of the team's 28 goals - 50% with nine scored and five assisted. This season, without the former Jeonbuk man in their lineup, Suwon FC have played four and lost three with one draw. Kim Hyun led the line against Jeju in the most recent outing for much of the contest but Lee Seung-woo moved up top in a 5-4-1 for the last 30 minutes.
Gangwon, meanwhile, have found a bit of form and are now on a run of just one loss in six. The Bears have drawn four of those matches and with 11 for the season so far, no K League 1 team has recorded as many stalemates. Gangwon will be looking to increase their shooting rate having dispatched the fewest in the division so far (252) and the fewest per 90 minutes (8.81). But over the last six matches, there has been an improvement with Gangwon sitting joint seventh with champions Ulsan for shots and sixth for accuracy with just one shot on target fewer than Ulsan. For Suwon, shooting has seldom been an issue. In fact, Kim Do-kyun's men are third in the league for total shots (322) and second for shots from outside the area. Improving accuracy will be the task at hand for the Castle Park side as 34.2% ranks them ninth in that regard.
Team of the Round
Daejeon Hana Citizen (vs. Pohang Steelers, Sun. 20th August - 19:00)
Daejeon Hana Citizen on Sunday emerged the victors from a seven-goal thriller with FC Seoul, earning a much-needed win that moved the Purples back into the top six. It was a real ding-dong battle, too, and showed the good and bad. Some great attacking play and slick link-up, not to mention excellent individual goals from Bae Jun-ho and Kang Yoon-seong, helped the Purples earn a 4-3 win, their second over Seoul this season. A brace for Tiago Orobo - his first strikes since June - moves the Brazilian centre forward to fourth in the goal-scoring charts with nine, just two behind Joo Min-kyu, Na Sang-ho, and Valeri Qazaishvili.
In fact, Daejeon's record against the current top four makes for good reading having, so far, gone unbeaten against Ulsan, Jeonbuk, and Seoul but Lee Min-sung's men will be keen to put the record straight against Pohang. Up next for Daejeon is a trip to the Steelyard to take on a Steelers side that's unbeaten in five and sits comfortably in second place. Daejeon are top four when it comes to shooting accuracy with 38.8%, just ahead of Gwangju and Pohang. Pohang, though, are just ahead of them for shots from outside the box.
Player of the Round
Stefan Mugoša, Incheon United (vs. Gwangju FC, Fri. 18th August - 19:00)
Stefan Mugoša's first Incheon United goal in 417 days on Sunday helped his team to a 3-0 win over Daegu FC. It came from a Gerso Fernandes layoff just inside the box, right-footed and into the top corner. Daegu goalkeeper Oh Seung-hoon got a hand to it but the shot was hit with such ferocity that the experienced custodian was helpless in preventing his team from going a goal down. The Montenegro international striker also laid on an assist, repaying the favour to Gerso by sliding him in to run onto the ball. That was Mugoša's first K League assist since October 2020. Stefan Mugoša returned to Incheon United in the summer transfer window after a year with Vissel Kobe in J.League. He has made two appearances since returning, the first coming in the 2-0 loss to Jeonbuk in Round 25. Up next for Mugoša and Incheon is Gwangju FC at home this Friday night. A win would see Incheon leapfrog their South Jeolla counterparts and into the top six.
Elsewhere in K League 1 Round 27
One of two Friday night matches sees Suwon Samsung Bluewings welcome Jeju United to Big Bird. Suwon had been on a run of five unbeaten to move off the foot of the table but after two matches without a win, will be looking to get back on track. Jeju, on the other hand, won last time out for what was their first three points since 27th May, 10 matches ago. The three points came via a 3-0 win over Suwon FC to move the Islanders within two points of the top six. Jeju won both the two meetings of 2023, 2-1 and 3-2.
Ulsan Hyundai vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors is one of the two matches picked for English commentary. Ulsan are a bit out of sorts at present, though, with one in win five with three defeats following the loss to Gangwon last time out. Jeonbuk, on the other hand, have one loss in five and have moved up to third place. A win would open the door for Pohang to narrow the gap with their East Coast Derby rivals to six points. Jeonbuk won the most recent meeting between the two giants, 2-0 thanks to goals from Cho Gue-sung and Moon Seon-min.
FC Seoul vs Daegu FC on Saturday is a fixture that will be seen as key for both teams. Both Seoul and Daegu lost last time out and, due to how tightly contest the league is this season, are in danger of losing ground. Seoul are now only two points clear of Incheon in seventh while Daegu have slipped to ninth in the table. A win for Seoul would put the pressure on Jeonbuk just above them while victory for the Sky Blues could move them into the top six should results elsewhere go their way.
K League 1 Table
K League 1 Round 27 Fixtures
Friday 18th August
#SSBvJEJ: Suwon Samsung Bluewings (12th) vs Jeju United (8th) - 19:30
#INCvGWA: Incheon United (7th) vs Gwangju FC (5th) - 19:30
Saturday 19th August
#GANvSUW: Gangwon FC (11th) vs Suwon FC (10th) - 19:00
#ULSvJEO: Ulsan Hyundai (1st) vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (3rd) - 19:00
#SEOvDAE: FC Seoul (4th) vs Daegu FC (9th) - 19:30
Sunday 20th August
#POHvDHFC: Pohang Steelers (2nd) vs Daejeon Hana Citizen (6th) - 19:00
Where to Watch
Suwon Samsung Bluewings vs Jeju United on Friday and Ulsan Hyundai vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Saturday are the matches picked for English commentary.
Those as well as the rest of the Round 27 action can be watched LIVE, for FREE, and in HD on
TV.KLeague.com.
