Asan have picked up four of a possible six points in their past two matches, with a stunning 3-1 victory over Daejeon Hana Citizen in the latest installment of the Chungcheong Derby last weekend, thanks in large part to a hat trick from Alex Sandro, followed by a rough and tumble affair with Seoul E-Land in midweek, a match that was made up due to COVID protocol concerns with the club last month. They will be under pressure to produce a result as they only have a two point edge over an in-form Bucheon side at the bottom of the table. Considering they only had 44 percent of possession in their last match, they still managed to produce ten shots, three of which were on target to the Leopards' one. Their passing will have to improve, however, as they need to be more concise with their distribution in the final third, as it could have a significant bearing on the outcome of the match this weekend.

Jeonnam entered play last weekend on a two match unbeaten run of their own and were expected to claim a fairly easy three points, but they were snakebitten by another strong performance by Bucheon who came away 2-0 winners. They let a massive opportunity slip and the effects can be seen immediately as the top five are currently separated by only three points with FC Anyang level with the Dragons on points while both Gimcheon Sangmu and Daejeon Hana Citizen sit on 24 points apiece and Busan IPark are on 23 points. With things as tight as they are at the moment, this weekend will be a pivotal one in terms of positioning in the table and that will headline the summer section of the match schedule as the fight for automatic promotion and the playoff continues to heat up.

Asan lined up in a 3-3-2-2 formation in midweek against Seoul E-Land, a concept they had not used previously this season. Park Dong-hyuk elected a strong starting eleven with the wing positions looking particularly strong. Yoo Jun-soo and Choi Kyu-baek occupied the fullback positions while Park Se-jin and Kim In-gyun took up the wings in midfield. The pairing of Alex Sandro and Park Se-jik in advanced attacking positions could be considered again this weekend unless there is a degree of rotation in the lineup. Lee Seung-jae is definitely an asset in attack, but the Owls will be hoping for the return of Matheus Alves sometime in the near future, as Kim Chan hasn't proven himself a viable scoring option up front.

After scoring a hat-trick against Seoul E-Land, Jonathan Balotelli, who leads the team with seven goals, came on for the second half against Bucheon last weekend, but it did not change their fortunes in the end. Having said that, he will be a likely starter this weekend. It is thought that he was not chosen to start last time out to give him some rest, but he should be ready to play against Asan. Oleg Zoteev was called up to the Uzbek national team for Asian World Cup qualifying and played a full ninety minutes in their final second round qualifier against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, so there is little chance he will be named in the starting eleven this weekend.

The only match between the sides this year ended 0-0 but that was at the beginning of the season on the second matchday. Things have changed quite a bit since. Jeonnam have the overall edge in the head to head series since the former military club transitioned to a citizen club last year with the Dragons winning twice and two matches ending in draws.

Three of Asan's four wins this season have come at home, including their convincing romp over Daejeon Hana Citizen last weekend. It has, however, done little to put them in position to move up the table, and Bucheon also won last weekend to keep pace with the Owls. In those four wins, they have scored ten goals and conceded only two, so the first quarter of an hour or so will likely dictate how they will approach the rest of the match. If they concede early, Jeonnam may just be content to sit back and utilize a bunker so that Asan's attacking threats will be neutralized.

Park Dong-hyuk's men must start well if they are to have any chance of getting a result from the match. They have also been prone to defensive errors on a few occasions this year but the good news is that they haven't been conceding as many goals in comparison to the previous campaign. If they can manage to strike a balance at both ends of the pitch, they may at least be able to claim a share of the spoils at the final whistle.

The Brazilian had his breakout performance against Daejeon last weekend, netting the first hat-trick in club history. After a time of adaptation, Sandro has found himself in Park Dong-hyuk's system and is one of the keys to what the team does offensively not only in terms of creating chances in the final third but also as a distribution link for the rest of the team. He has momentum carrying him at the moment and will look to add to his goal tally on Sunday afternoon.

He is K League 2's second leading scorer with seven goals in 2021 thus far. He is the best natural scorer the club has had in quite a long time. After bagging three against Seoul E-Land, he was kept at bay last time out, so he will be looking to resume his chase for the division's Golden Boot when Jeonnam play this weekend. His highlight performance to date was in fact the match against the Leopards, but he did also have a three match scoring streak back in May when he netted against Gyeongnam FC, Ansan Greeners, and Busan IPark, with the first two matches resulting in victories but the third, a loss.

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K League United Columnist