Preview: Pohang Steelers vs FC Seoul

After a hot start to the season, Pohang have lost three in a row in the league and were eliminated by second division side Busan in the FA Cup. In the first of back to back home games the Steelers welcome a "winning ugly" FC Seoul side looking to win two in a row for the first time since March.
(photo via facebook.com/fcpohangsteelers)

Overview

Last Game

In the first phase of league play Pohang's form was very surprising. Temporarily, they were top of the league. But now, Pohang is sliding down. After the Daegu match on April 15th, they have gone winless. The Steelers were even beaten by a Challenge team (Busan) in the FA Cup. Unlike the first phase of the league, Pohang can find a clue in attack. They only have two goals in four games, and have been held scoreless three times in the same stretch.

The Steelers will be looking to score against an FC Seoul side that's been eliminated from ACL and looking to rebound in the league. Nearly sinking into a pit with back to back losses in ACL and K League, Seoul got a valuable three point win vs Jeonnam Dragons. So Seoul quickly moved on from the shocking defeat at Daegu on April 30th and have already moved up to 3rd.

Team News

Pohang: Last match, Hwang Ji-su, Son Jun-ho and Lee Seung-hee returned to the team, but they couldn't make any impact. The attack was still stuffy and depended on wing play, especially from Seo Bo-min. Yang Dong-hyun's silence in attack is also concerning. Head coach Choi Soon-ho said "I don't worry about Yang's slump" but Choi must be concerned.

Seoul: Seoul's swagger returned with a lone goal and win last game. Osmar is helpful simply with his presence, but also notched the game's lone goal and will continue to rescue the team. Additionally, Seoul's midfield play is becoming more and more strong. Dejan is burning twilight and Ju Se-jong & Go Yo-han's play is also better than before. All of them can play their style enough in this game.

Preview

This match is being called the "Hwang Sun-hong match". Last year, Hwang started as new Seoul head coach, but he was previously headcoach at Pohang. Seoul and Pohang faced each other last year, but it was at Seoul World Cup Stadium. This is the first match that Hwang will visit the Steelyard. In Hwang's Pohang days he was strong vs Seoul. Historically Pohang has been strong vs Seoul with 56 wins 47 losses and 47 draws. But now Hwang is Seoul's coach and he knows Pohang very well. In this situation, while Seoul is in their rising phase, Pohang isn't. Pohang have to survive Seoul's strong strike. The Steelers side play has been good, but central play and the strikers haven't been sharp. They have been predictable and very weak. In this match midfield trio Seo Bo-min, Son Jun-ho and Sim Dong-un are expected to do very well.They must put in a good performance to bring victory.

Prediction

Rising Seoul and falling Pohang will face off with Seoul having more troubleshooters, and central strength than before with the return of Osmar. On the other hand, Pohang's 'goal silence' doesn't show signs of ending. They will find it quite difficult to score against Seoul.