Pohang Steelers are also on a run of five unbeaten in the league and six in all competitions. Like Seoul, Pohang's unbeaten run began with the draw between the two teams back in Round 7. The similarities don't end there either as Pohang have also managed two league wins in that time and one was against Suwon FC. The most recent win, though, was a 1-0 victory over Seongnam FC thanks to a second-half strike from young attacking midfielder Go Young-jun. Pohang now sit second in the K League 1 standings, level on points with Jeju United and Incheon United but with a better goals scored record.
Team News
Hwang In-beom's performances off the bench in FC Seoul's last two matches will have given manager An Ik-soo food for thought. Hwang has joined on loan from Rubin Kazan until the end of June and came on to replace Han Seung-gyu against Jeonbuk and Paločević against Suwon to pick up 78 minutes across the two appearances. On the injury front, Ji Dong-won remains a doubt while Go Yo-han is out for the season with an ACL problem.
Pohang Steelers could be without the services of Alex Grant who has missed his team's last three matches in all competitions. Park Seung-wook has filled in at centre back in his absence. Park, though, is just one yellow away from a one-match ban having collected four bookings this season.
Head-to-Head
Sunday night's meeting between FC Seoul and Pohang Steelers will be the 167th in K League. Pohang have the edge with 62 wins to Seoul's 54 and 51 draws. The Steelers also have the better goal record with 240 to Seoul's 214. Over the last ten meetings, there have been four Pohang wins, three Seoul wins and three draws.
The first meeting of 2022 ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to a Na Sang-ho penalty in the 81st minute which cancelled out Lee Gwang-hyeok's 18th-minute opener. In 2021, Seoul had the slight edge with two wins and a draw from the four encounters.
What to Watch
Passing & Possession vs. Games' First Goalscorers
Hosts FC Seoul have dominated possession in most games this season with a 66% average. The most Seoul had was against Suwon FC at 77%, it was similar against Gangwon too at 73% and Seongnam 72%. A lot of their passes are made among their defensive players with Osmar, Lee Han-beom and Ki Sung-yueng sitting in the top three for passes made so far this season. The capital club, then, have had to remain patient and work at finding a breakthrough. How Seoul turn possession into goal-scoring opportunities will be worth keeping tabs on.
Pohang, meanwhile, have scored the game's first goal in nine out of 11 matches so far this season. In all those nine games, the Steelers have gone on to earn points. Going for goal might suit FC Seoul and could lead to a more open match between the two teams. Go Young-jun will be one to watch for Pohang having scored in each of his last two matches. For Seoul, Hwang In-beom could prove key with his defence-splitting passes.
FC Seoul versus Pohang Steelers kicks off at 19:00 KST on Sunday 15th May 2022.
Fans in countries with K League overseas broadcasting rights can follow the game live on television. More information can be found
here.
Alternatively, the match is also available for FREE on
tv.kleague.com.
