Preview: K League 2 Round 6

Round Six of the K League 2 gets underway this weekend and it is Asan Mugunghwa's turn to try and stop the Bucheon 1995 juggernaut from making it six wins from six. Elsewhere, an in-form Ansan Greeners take on a Suwon FC side who have made somewhat of a spluttering start to the season, whereas Sunday will see struggling Seoul E-Land brace themselves for a neigbourly visit from an Éder-powered Seongnam FC. All these matches previewed and more in our guide to the weekend's K League 2 action.
(image via K League)

Saturday 7th April

Ansan Greeners (4th) vs Suwon FC (7th) 15:00

Ansan Greeners continued their fine form into the last round, earning a hard fought point away to last year’s FA Cup finalists Busan IPark thanks to a 92nd minute penalty from attacker Raul. The Greeners are currently unbeaten in their last four outings and are looking like a much slicker proposition that last season. The addition of 22 year-old Liberian international Seku Conneh has looked like a promising signing and has often been selected ahead of the club’s 2017 top scorer Raul as the focal point of the attack.

Ansan will be playing host to a Suwon FC side who finally arrested their recent streak of defeats with a narrow 1-0 victory over FC Anyang last Saturday. Suwon has been widely tipped to do well given their off-season forays into the transfer market, yet have scored just three goals in the campaign so far, conceding seven in reply. It is not the start the board will have expected, but they will be hoping they can use their recent victory as a platform to build on. Former MLS midfielder Alex Lima opened his Suwon account with the winner in Anyang and has looked promising in most of his appearances for his new club since joining in January, playing in crosses to Matheus Alves from central midfield.

You can read Mike Brandon's full match preview and prediction here.

You can also read and watch our interview with Ansan Greeners' Seku Conneh here.

FC Anyang (10th) vs Daejeon Citizen (6th) 15:00

Despite some promising appointments behind the scenes during the off-season, FC Anyang are still waiting for their season to kick into gear as they sit bottom of the division awaiting their first victory. The team has only found the net twice in the league this season, with both of them being scored by 22 year-old midfielder Jung Hee-woong.

Visitors Daejeon Citizen have also have had a mixed start to the new season, but with a victory over Gwangju FC last time out, ‘The Purples’ could be set to record their first back-to-back wins since last September. First choice goalkeeper Kim Jin-young will be unavailable for Daejeon as he serves the second game of his suspension after receiving a straight red card in round four in his side’s loss to Busan, but with Lim Min-hyuk keeping a clean sheet in Kim’s absence, the side will be hoping that going up against the league’s second lowest scorers will not bother him too much.

You can read Paul Neat's match preview and prediction here.

You can also read our interview with FC Anyang assistant manager Michael Kim here.

Asan Mugunghwa (5th) vs Bucheon 1995 (1st) 17:00

With many tipping big things from this season’s Asan Mugunghwa side, the police team will feel disappointed that they are already eight points off first place this early into the season, especially given the recent call ups of first division experienced midfielders Lee Myung-joo and Ju Se-jong to bolster their midfield.

That said, with league leaders Bucheon 1995 coming to town, Asan have an ample opportunity to claw some of that difference back. To do so, the police will have to do something that the division’s other sides have failed to do so far, and that is stop Willian Popp. Since returning to Korean shores at the start of the season, the Brazilian striker has found the net once in each of Bucheon’s five matches this year and leads the league’s scoring charts. Whilst Asan do boast one of the division stingiest defences, they will have to be at their best to stop the on-fire Popp from finding his sixth of the season

Predicted Score: Asan Mugunghwa 1-2 Bucheon 1995

Sunday 8th April

Busan IPark (3rd) vs Gwangju FC (8th) 14:00

Busan IPark will have been annoyed to cede their 1-0 lead late in injury time last week, as they conceded a penalty in the final minutes to Ansan Greeners are were left with a share of the spoils. However, Busan may feel some relief at the thought of playing host to Gwangju FC on Sunday. Last year’s relegated side have struggled with the challenge on off in Korea’s second tier, and have scored one league goal in five matches in addition to suffering a shock FA Cup exit to National League team Daejeon Korail. Things are not looking positive at the moment for Gwangju, and Busan could really pile on the misery even more if they are not careful.

You can read Tomas Marcantonio's full match preview and prediction here.

Seoul E-Land (9th) vs Seongnam FC (2nd) 17:00

For forty-five minutes last Saturday, things had looked to have finally turned a corner for Seoul E-Land as they found themselves two goals up against league leaders Bucheon 1995, only to concede four in the second half and record their third defeat of the new campaign. It's the second time they have found themselves losing a lead against promotion tipped opposition this season, having already being made to share the spoils with Busan Ipark in their 2-2 draw last month.

The hosts are still winless and look set to wait a little longer as they welcome an unbeaten Seongnam outfit to the Seoul Olympic Stadium that have conceded just two goals in 2018, the lowest in the division. If E-Land are to hold their own in this encounter, then they will need to keep an eye out for Seongnam attacking winger Éder, who will likely pose a number of questions of E-Land’s defensive line. The Brazilian has picked up four goals for ‘The Magpies’ since joining from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the winter and already looks like a sound acquisition for his new club.

You can read Michael Redmond's full match preview and prediction here.