Gangwon FC vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are showing they are once again the team to beat in the K-League this season. The reigning champions are currently at the top of the table after kicking off their title defence with three wins out of three.
Jeonbuk will look to maintain their perfect start to the campaign this weekend as they visit a Gangwon FC side that is still trying to get going.
The K-League 2020 odds have Jeonbuk favoured to pick up another win away from home, but Gangwon played the champions tough in their meetings last season and would love nothing more than to put an end to Jeonbuk’s perfect start.
Talking Points
Gangwon’s ‘Byung-soo Ball’ not going so great
Gangwon have struggled to build from their strong start to the season. After defeating FC Seoul 3-1 in their opening match, they lost 2-0 to Sangju Sangmu, then drew 1-1 at home against Seongnam last weekend.
Gangwon should consider themselves lucky to get a point against the Magpies. Despite having more possession, they were outshot, 23-10, and Seongnam also had an 11-5 edge in shots on target.
Manager Kim Byung-soo has been lauded for his “Byung-soo Ball,” which has seen Gangwon play some attractive football. However, his side has been unable to recreate the form which saw them score 56 goals — third-most in the league — last season.
Things won’t get much easier when Gangwon face Jeonbuk. Despite being at home, Gangwon may not get to have as much of the ball and could spend most of the match on the defensive.
Gangwon will need to play much better on the counterattack if they are to get a positive result against the champions.
Kim Seung-dae will have to play a crucial role in spearheading the Gangwon attack. The striker, who is on loan from Jeonbuk, has made a strong start to his Gangwon career, with a goal and two assists in his first three games.
Jeonbuk just keep winning
Jeonbuk couldn’t have asked a better start to their K-League 2020 results. Despite not playing at their best in their first few games, they have still picked up three wins out of three to take an early lead over rivals Ulsan.
They needed late goals to defeat both Suwon and Busan I’Park in their first two games. Veteran Lee Dong-Gook popped up with an 86th-minute winner to beat Suwon, while substitute Lars Veldwijk’s winner against Busan came five minutes into stoppage time.
Jeonbuk didn’t need more dramatics in their latest outing against Daegu, though. The champions completely dominated Daegu; they had 60 per cent of possession with 14 shots (eight on target) en route to a 2-0 win.
Daegu, who were missing their star Brazilian playmaker Cesinha due to a thigh injury, were limited to just two shots in total.
Key offseason signing Murillo finally got his first goal for the club and Cho Kyu-Sung scored the second to seal the win.
However, Cho was sent off for a second yellow card during stoppage time and will be suspended for this match against Gangwon. Veldwijk looks set to take his place and make his first start of the season.
History
The Gangwon-Jeonbuk matchup has been about as one-sided as it gets. The two sides have met a total of 21 times; Jeonbuk have won 16 of those matches, while Gangwon have won only three.
However, Gangwon were much more competitive against Jeonbuk in their battles last season. In their first meeting of the season, they finally ended their nearly decade-long winless drought over Jeonbuk as they beat the champions 1-0 away.
Gangwon looked set for another win in their next meeting as they were up 2-1 at home at the half, but Jeonbuk overturned that deficit to win 3-2.
Gangwon would be the ones to stage a dramatic comeback in their next meeting, though, as they scored two goals after the 90th minute to salvage a 3-3 draw.
But the champions would have the last laugh as they beat Gangwon 1-0 at home in their final meeting of the season.
Betting Tip
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Gangwon FC vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1X2 @ 1.85 |
| May 30, 3:30PM |
Unsurprisingly, SBOBET odds have Jeonbuk priced as 1.85 favourites to win away to Gangwon. Meanwhile, the hosts are 3.95 to score a significant upset, and a draw is priced at 3.50.
Judging from Jeonbuk’s impressive performance against Daegu, the champions appear to have shaken off some early-season rust and are back in form. Gangwon, on the other hand, still have some issues they need to address.
However, I don’t expect them to solve those issues against the champions, who should be able to extend their winning run to four matches.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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