For Ulsan Hyundai, meanwhile, the task at hand is to seal a first K League title since 2005. While the once wide points gap is now down to just five, manager Hong Myung-bo may take solace in knowing that Ulsan haven't had this strong of a lead heading into Final A before. In 2021, Ulsan were actually second heading into the Final Round, in 2020 they had a two-point lead, and in 2019 just a one-point lead. In the last three seasons, Ulsan have on average picked up an average of nine points in Final Round. Should the Horangi manage to do that this season then they would need to rely on Jeonbuk dropping points at least once.
One battle to keep tabs on will be Incheon's backline and goalkeepers coming up against either Martin Adam or Leonardo. Combined, goals that have contributed in turning draws into wins or defeats into draws has been the difference in earning 15 points more. Incheon defender Oh Ban-seok, speaking at Final Round Media Day on Wednesday, picked the two main goalkeepers as key players for his team whereas Lee Chung-yong picked the foreign forwards.
Team of the Round
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (vs. Pohang Steelers, Sat. 1st October - 19:00)
With three straight wins and unbeaten in six, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are the league's in-form team. Hitting form comes at the perfect time, too, with just five matches left to make up the five-point gap with Ulsan Hyundai. The team has been buoyed by the sudden goal-scoring form of Gambian winger Modou Barrow who has managed to score six goals in his last five matches. Two came in the recent 3-2 win over Suwon Bluewings, another two in the 5-0 demolition of Daegu FC as well as the winner against Seongnam to name but a few. Another major plus for Jeonbuk is the return of Cho Gue-sung from military service. The Korean international striker scored his first goal for the club since 2020 last time out but could miss the game through injury. This Saturday, Jeonbuk take on a Pohang Steelers side that sits six points behind. The head-to-head between these two giants of Korean football is dead even this season with one win each and one draw.
Player of the Round
Kim Dae-won, Gangwon FC (vs. Jeju United, Sun. 2nd October - 14:00)
Two assists last time out took Kim Dae-won's goal contributions this season to 22, 10 goals and 12 assists. No player in the top flight has made more than Kim. He scores well for key passes too with close to one per match on average, the second-best record in the division. Up next for Gangwon and Kim Dae-won is the visit of Jeju United. The former Daegu winger scored two against Jeju when these two sides met in June, Gangwon ran out 4-2 winners on that occasion and Kim provided the assists for the other two goals. A repeat of that would take Gangwon above Jeju in the table.
Elsewhere in K League 1 Round 34
Starting Final B with how the regular season ended, FC Seoul will meet Daegu FC. It will be the second of three straight meetings, too, as the pair set to clash in the FA Cup semifinal next Wednesday. Seoul will be buoyed by the return of Stanislav Iljutcenko who missed the 3-0 loss to Daegu in Round 33 due to suspension. The powerful centre forward opened his account for FC Seoul when these two teams last met in the capital earlier this season. Daegu will be looking to keep their heads above water having climbed out of the bottom three following the win last time out.
The last time Suwon FC hosted Gimcheon Sangmu, Lee Seung-woo scored two including an injury-time winner. Gimcheon will be hoping to avoid a repeat of that as the army side sit second-bottom and are in danger of being relegated via the playoffs.
On Monday night, Seongnam FC are at home to Suwon Bluewings in a 12th versus 11th clash. Seongnam are nine points adrift meaning that anything less than a win would all but seal their fate. A win, then, would give the Mapgies hope. The Bluewings, on the other hand, know that a win could move them out of the bottom three should results elsewhere have gone their way.
K League 1 Table
K League 1 Round 34 Fixtures
Saturday 1st October
#SEOvDAE: FC Seoul (8th) vs Daegu FC (9th) - 14:00
#INCvULS: Incheon United (4th) vs Ulsan Hyundai (1st) - 16:30
#JEOvPOH: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (2nd) vs Pohang Steelers (3rd) - 19:00
Sunday 2nd October
#JEJvGAN: Jeju United (5th) vs Gangwon FC (6th) - 14:00
#SUWvGIM: Suwon FC (7th) vs Gimcheon Sangmu (10th) - 16:30
Monday 3rd October
#SFCvSSB: Seongnam FC (1st) vs Suwon Samsung Bluewings (2nd) - 14:00
Where to Watch
Incheon United versus Ulsan Hyundai, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors versus Pohang Steelers, as well as Jeju United versus Gangwon FC have been picked by K League's overseas broadcasting partners. Check local listings for more details.
Alternatively, follow all the action LIVE, for FREE and in HD on
TV.KLeague.com.
Paul Neat
Managing Editor
