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This Wednesday evening sees Pohang Steelers welcome league leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to The Steel Yard. With The Steelers in tight competition for the top half, any points earned against the reigning champions will be very much welcome. However, the North Jeolla outfit will be hoping to build on Saturday’s victory over Gangwon as they look to consign their recent league and cup defeats to the past, and build positive momentum going into their crucial Champions League fixture in two weeks time.

Date: Wednesday 15th August

Kick-off: 19:00 KST

Venue: Pohang Steel Yard

Recent Form

Pohang Steelers come into this game in reasonable form, having dropped just four points in their last five league games. The side is currently trying to reestablish itself in the top half of the table after a bout of disappointing results earlier in the season, yet still find themselves just out of reach. A victory on Wednesday however, would likely see them move up into sixth place depending on results elsewhere.

Pohang’s last outing saw them draw 0-0 away to Jeju United in a somewhat underwhelming affair. The visitors probably edged proceedings in the first half, though most of their opportunities were spurned wide of the goal. Jeju then came out the brighter of the two in the second half, missing several clear opportunities to take the lead. The Steelers did carve out some chances towards the end of the ninety minutes though, and possibly felt aggrieved not to have won a late penalty after Kang Sang-woo looked to have been tripped by Jeju defender Kwon Han-jin, but the officials deemed that no contact had been made.

Pohang’s opponents on Wednesday, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, tasted victory at the weekend over Gangwon FC and arrested what they may consider a slump after losing to Gyeongnam FC in the league and Asan Mugunghwa in the cup within the week prior. The side looked to be struggling to adjust to the recent departure of attacking midfielder Lee Jae-sung, plus international call ups of goalkeeper Song Beom-keun and defender Kim Min-jae, but a convincing performance provided evidence to the contrary.

Jeonbuk started the match against Gangwon well, scoring the opener after just six minutes through a Hong Jeong-ho header. An excellent cross in from Brazilian Tiago left Hong with little work to do, and the early goal set the tempo for the rest of the match. Kim Shin-wook would double the hosts’ lead after the hour mark, glancing a header in from close range before Tiago would score the third with a daring free-kick, which was fired under the jumping wall and into the net. Gangwon did find some consolation from a stunning Oh Beom-seok effort ten minutes from time, but it was too little, too late to mount a comeback.

Previous Meetings

This is the third time the two sides have met this season, with both teams chalking up an away victory each. Jeonbuk drew first blood early on in the season with a convincing 2-0 victory, before being embarrassed on home turf to the tune of three goals to nil in May. In fairness to the reigning champions however, they did play a notably weakened side in that match in preparation for an upcoming AFC Champions League encounter, but they will still have been annoyed to have lost in such a humbling manner.

Over the history of this fixture, results have remained fairly balanced, with Pohang tasting victory 21 times to Jeonbuk’s 19, and each side sharing the spoils on a further 13 occasions. However, it has been the North Jeolla side that has often claimed the three points in recent years, with Pohang’s win in May being the first time they had won in three seasons. Surprisingly, the last time Pohang defeated Jeonbuk at The Steel Yard will be three years ago to the day that this match is played. On that occasion, Choi Jae-soo, Kim Seung-dae and Kim Dae-ho helped claim all three points for the home side in a 3-0 win.

Team News

Pohang Steelers currently have no suspensions to be concerned with, although Kang Sang-woo’s booking against Jeju at the weekend does mean he is now one caution away from a one game suspension. The same warning can also be given to defensive midfielder Connor Chapman who has five yellow cards to his name this season. In terms of injuries, Pohang are likely to still be without leading scorer Leo Gamalho.

Jeonbuk will be without central midfielder and former Pohang man Son Jun-ho after he collected his sixth yellow card of the season at the weekend, meaning he will be suspended for this fixture against his previous side. Jeonbuk also have seven players one caution away from being suspended and who would then miss Sunday’s match against bitter rivals FC Seoul. These include first team regulars Adriano, Jeong Hyeok, Choi Chul-soon, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Yong, Lim Sun-young and Han Kyo-won. Therefore, the visitors will have to be wary in the tackle, and it may even lead to the manager considering dropping some of them for this fixture.

Jeonbuk also have a number of absentees that they are still contending with. As mentioned, first team ‘keeper Song Beom-keun, centre-back Kim Min-jae and defensive midfielder Jang Yun-ho are all away with the U23 Korea National Team as they go for gold in the Asian Games. Jeonbuk are also without second choice goalkeeper Hong Jeong-nam who continues his return from knee surgery, in addition to Lee Seung-gi who remains doubtful after picking up a toe injury two weeks ago. Left back Kim Jin-su continues on his long road to recovery, with his side hoping that the Jeonju born defender will be returning to action sooner rather than later.

Talking Tactics

Pohang Steelers tend to line up in a 4-3-3 formation and, despite previously opting to regularly rotate the front three, have fielded the same lineup in their last two outings. Therefore, manager Choi Soon-ho could bring in fresh legs, especially given how his team were found lacking in front of goal last time out. Youngster Lee Keun-ho, a player unfortunate not to warrant a call up to the Asian Games, could start on Wednesday. Seeing as he managed to make two assists in Pohang’s 3-0 drubbing of Jeonbuk earlier this season, the manager may see it as a good opportunity to offer him minutes once more.

Jeonbuk are also likely to stick to a tried and tested formation in their 4-1-4-1 shape. Given the number of players close to suspension, manager Choi Kang-hee may opt to hold some back through fear of them collecting another booking. While Lee Yong and Choi Chul-soon seem likely to stay at full back position due to lack of replacements, the central defence will probably consist of Choi bo-kyung and Hong Jeong-ho, with central defender Lee Jae-sung on the bench. Tiago may also get another start due to both his strong showing at the weekend and also to ensure winger Han kyo-won is available as an additional option on Sunday. It will also seems probable that Kim Shin-wook will lead the line as he continues to build on his recent goalscoring form.

One To Watch

Given his showing at the weekend, Jeonbuk winger and former Pohang player Tiago Alves has a prime opportunity to build on that performance if selected here. The Brazilian was signed with high hopes at the start of the season given his past displays in the K League, yet has failed to deliver to the level many expected of him. In fairness to him though, his form has somewhat been hampered by his lack of starts. Given the pressure on manager Choi Kang-hee to win every game the team plays in, his track record shows it is not unusual for slow starters at the club to be pushed to side and prove themselves once more. After an assist and a goal at the weekend against Gangwon, plus a heightened likelihood of starting due to the worry of Han Kyo-won collecting another caution, Tiago has reopened his window of opportunity to impress, and it would be unsurprising if he were to demonstrate on Wednesday evening exactly why he was purchased.

Matthew Binns
Associate Editor
K League United
www.kleagueunited.com