Fourth in the table, Suwon FC take on league-leading Ulsan Hyundai on Saturday in Hana 1Q K League Round 33 as the current season enters the final stage. Both teams have been in good shape lately having lost only once in their last five outings.
Recent Form
Suwon FC have been in good form lately. They have lost only twice since May and have managed to beat some of the league's top teams during that period, having won against both Jeonbuk Hyundai and Ulsan Hyundai, who they will face on Saturday. Last week Suwon fought out a goalless draw against another top team – Daegu FC. Currently, Kim Do-kyun's men are in fourth place three points behind their last week’s opponents.
Ulsan Hyundai head into this weekend after a 1-0 victory against Gwangju FC last weekend. The Horangi have been at the top of the table for a long time now, but they need to get three points to hold the lead at least for the international break as second-in-the-table Jeonbuk Hyundai have been in great form too recently and are only one point behind. Hong Myung-bo’s side have lost only once in the last 11 games since the last match between the two teams.
Team News
No players will miss this Saturday’s game due to card suspensions. For Ulsan Hyundai, Won Du-jae, Kim Tae-hwan, and Kim Kee-hee, who all missed the last game due to card suspensions should be back in contention but Lee Chung-yong and Won Du-jae remain injury doubts. Suwon FC’s manager, Kim Do-kyun is unlikely to have forward Tardeli Reis available as he has been injured for a few weeks now. Fellow Brazilian Murilo is just one yellow card away from a one-match ban. Centre back Yun Young-sun is a long term absentee with a pelvic issue.
Head-to-Head
Suwon FC have played Ulsan Hyundai only five times in their history. The two teams have faced each other twice this season with the previous three matches taking place in 2016. The historical record is in favour of the Horangi as have they won on three occasions, drew once and also lost only once. This season in April, Ulsan Hyundai managed to get a 1-0 away win thanks to Kim In-sung’s late strike. Then both teams faced in July for a rematch in one of the most interesting and shocking games in the whole league this season. Suwon FC ran out 5-2 winners thanks to a sensational Lars Veldwijk’s performance. The South African international scored four and assisted one.
What to Watch
Attacking intent
Both teams like to play offensively as Suwon FC have scored 44 goals and Ulsan Hyundai 50 with only Jeonbuk Hyundai have performed better in this regard finding the net 55 times this season. Ulsan and Suwon are also the only teams to reach 400 shots and 140 shots on target in the current campaign. The main difference between both sides is in the defence. Suwon FC have conceded the most goals in the division (43) and Ulsan Hyundai the second fewest (33). This would suggest that on Saturday more action will take place near the hosts’ goal but the last game between the two teams, which ended in a 5-2 Suwon win, showed that nothing is for sure when it comes to Ulsan Hyundai and Suwon FC. But Suwon's Lars Veldwijk is the league's leading goal scorer with 15, four of which came against Ulsan earlier in the campaign. Valeri Qazaishvili has been one of the most influential players for Ulsan Hyundai this season. Having scored seven goals and providing three assists in 27 appearances in the league as well as scoring three times and assisting twice in the AFC Champions League, he is Ulsan’s second-best goal scorer only behind Lee Dong-jun. Vako has scored two goals in the last three games to help his team get a 2-1 victory against Pohang Steelers.
Suwon FC versus Ulsan Hyundai in Hana 1Q K League 1 Round 33 kicks off at 16:30 KST on Saturday 2nd October. Fans in countries with K League overseas broadcasting rights can follow the game live on television. More information can be found
here.
Alternatively, K League matches are available LIVE, for FREE and in HD on
tv.kleague.com.
