Preview: Gwangju FC Vs Daejeon Citizen

In K League 2 this Sunday Daejeon Citizen travel to South Jeolla Province to take on a win-less Gwangju FC side. After finishing bottom of the K League 1 last year, Gwangju have not taken well to life back in the second tier and have amassed just one goal in the League in 2018. The Purples can boast of one win at least this term but have suffered back-to-back losses since and haven't exactly been sharp shooters themselves having found the back of the net just four times in five games, two of which were penalties. 

Overview

from Soccerway

Last Time Out

In midweek Daejeon made the trip north to Gyeonggi Province to take on fellow K League 2 side Seongnam in the FA Cup 3rd Round. The much-changed Purples side were plucky and gave a decent account of themselves, and perhaps could have booked their place into the fourth round had they had been more productive in front of goal. However, it was the Magpies who advanced with Muralha's early second half goal proving to be enough to see Citizen crash out of the cup at the first hurdle

Somewhat ironically, Gwangju were in Daejeon for their FA Cup tie, taking on National League side Daejeon Korail at the Hanbat Stadium. The K League 2 side suffered the humiliation of being the victims of somewhat of a cupset after a 3-1 defeat, rendering the recently relegated side still searching for their first win since last October.

In league action, however, Citizen lost 1-0 at home to promotion chasing Busan IPark last Sunday; a Lee Dongjun goal in the 10th minute proved to be enough to separate the two sides. Lee acted quickest to latch onto a loose ball which Ahn Jaejun failed to control and had just had the 'keeper to beat. Recap: here

Meanwhile, Gwangju's tough start to life back in the second tier continued, drawing 0-0 with Seoul E-Land at Jamsil. The stalemate means that Gwangju manager Park Jinseop's side have managed just two goals in all competitions in 2018.

Previous Meetings

The last meeting between Gwangju FC and Daejeon Citizen was when both sides were in the top flight. On 28th November 2015 Gwangju recorded a 2-1 home win over the Purples; Kim Noham and Park Sunhong were on target for the hosts, Wanderson bagged a late consolation goal in time added on.

Earlier that season the scoreline was the same but in favour of Citizen, with Wanderson bagging a brace at Guus Hiddink Stadium for the Purples with a goal either side of a strike from fellow Brazilian Cassiano for Gwangju.

In the 16 matches that have been played between these two sides Citizen have the edge seven wins whilst Gwangju have five. However, in Jeolla Daejeon have just won three times in six years.

Team News

Daejeon Citizen goalkeeper Kim Jinyoung will be suspended for the trip to Gwangju having been shown red during the Purples' 1-0 defeat to Busan last weekend. Lim Minhyeok is expected to deputise.

After rotating his team heavily for the away trip to Seongnam in the FA Cup, Ko Jongsoo may have one or two things to consider ahead of Sunday's match. Having broke into the team in recent weeks, Filip Hlohovsky was substituted off in the second half and replaced by a determined Kim Seungseop. The former Korea University winger, who is in his first season as a professional, made an impact on Wednesday night and may well have done enough to force his way back into the starting eleven.

Meanwhile, at the back, Yun Shinyoung skippered the side at Tancheon, performing admirably so could be in line for his first league appearance of the season.

The Adversary

Gwangju FC have lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation in every single match they have played this season. For the 0-0 draw at Jamsil versus Seoul E-Land, Gwangju had Vujaklija in attack. The Serbian forward,referred to as "Buya" in Korean, is the only player to score in league action for Gwangju this season.

Graphic by LineUp11

Who To Watch

If selected, and not to be confused with his namesake in goal for Daejeon, former FC Seoul youngster Lim Minhyeok could be someone for the Citizen midfield to keep tabs on. Lim was part of the Korea's U20 World Cup squad and featured for FC Seoul towards the end of the last season. With somewhat of a midfield exodus at Sangam it was thought that perhaps the 21-year-old was auditioning for a place in Hwang Sunhong's squad for 2018 but, despite showing a great deal of promise, was involved in a swap deal with Park Dongjin moving the other way. Lim Minhyeok is a vibrant and enthusiastic midfielder who, when given license to, likes to play in advanced positions and will need to be tracked by Citizen's holding midfielder.

Prediction

Neither team have settled into the 2018 season particularly well and although Daejeon have already won this season, it was against nine men and at home to fellow strugglers Seoul E-Land. Gwangju are struggling themselves, most notably to find the back of the net and so a 0-0 draw is perhaps the most likely outcome.

Gwangju FC 0-0 Daejeon Citizen