Preview: Bucheon 1995 vs Seoul E-Land

It has been a rather turbulent week for Seoul E-Land. After a good run in the league, it has appeared that their good fortunes have ran out with the departure of Daniel Febles, followed by a lackluster performance at the weekend that saw them lose 2-0 against Busan IPark, away from home, ending a four-game undefeated streak in the league. After a number of weeks of pulling out respectable results in the division, an away trip down to Bucheon on Saturday could spark a start of a bad run for the side, if they do not get their act together. .
(image via K League)

Last Time Out

Seoul E-Land went into the game against Busan IPark on Sunday, after their last game coming a fortnight prior. Under normal circumstances, E-Land would have walked into the game with a bit of hope. Their last game was a 2-1 win over Ansan Greeners and the result was a real morale boost for the side. Yet the absence of Daniel Febles and Cho Jae-wan definetly left the side a little scarce.

The absence of suspended Kim Tae-eun was apparent as the back line suffered a bombardment of Busan attacks. It was not long until the home side made it 1-0, with a penalty from Romulo Pacheco in the 22nd minute. Busan went into the half with ten shots, compared to E-Land’s two. Busan made it 2-0 seven minutes after kick off, with Han Ji-ho slotting the ball into the net.

It really could have been more for Busan, but Seoul’s Kim Young-kwang (Glory) saved them from an embarrassing scoreline. The Leopards will need to dust themselves off and quickly forget about the result if they are to save themselves from further embarrassment.

Bucheon 1995, will have a slight disadvantage going into the game on Saturday, they played on Monday evening when they welcome Asan Mugunghwa to the Bucheon stadium. Coincidentally, just like E-Land, Bucheon also conceded a 22nd-minute penalty in their game. Joo Se-jong scored the only goal of the match from the spot kick, giving the away side the win. Bucheon 1995 came close a number of times throughout the game and were really pushing for the equalizer.

Unfortunately for the home team, it was not to be and they have now lost the same amount of games as Seoul E-Land. The difference between the two sides however is, Bucheon have won all of their other games, where E-Land have drawn four.

Previous Meetings

The last time the two teams met, was back on the last day of March, in the Seoul Olympic Stadium. It was a pure goal fest, which saw Seoul E-Land go into the break 2-0 to the good. Bucheon were the team to beat at the time and currently flying at the top of the table. E-Land got goals in the 28th and the 30th minute, from Cha Jae-wan and Choi Oh-baek respectively.

Unfortunately for E-Land, it was a game of two halves and Bucheon really showed their class in the second half, with four successive goals. William Popp made it 2-1 in the 53rd minute before Jin Chang-soo made it level only seven minutes later. Lim Dong-hyeok was the man to deflate the E-Land faithful in the 80th minute, making it 3-2. Before Jin Chang-soo picking up his brace in the final moments, making it 4-2 and three easy points for Bucheon 1995.

Team News

Seoul E-Land greeted fans with the unfortunate news that Daniel Febles had terminated his contract with the side. Complications with his partner’s pregnancy had ledto the decision and E-Land are now left with the solo foreign player in Diego Bielkiewicz. We here at K League United wish Daniel Febles all the best in his future career and hope that everything pulls through successfully for his future family.

Kim Tae-eun will also be unavailable for this match as he continues his suspension after seeing red in the home match against Ansan Greeners.

For the hosts, defender Lim Dong-hyeok will be absent from the match after accumulating his third yellow card last time out against Asan.

The Adversary

Bucheon 1995 was a team I had great admiration for at the start of the season. Their win against Seoul made it five wins out of five, and they were flying in the league. They were my tip to be automatically promoted early on, yet have been in freefall ever since their trip to Jamsil.

Bucheon, went on a four-game losing streak after that game, bowing out of the FA Cup, and being involved in three straight league defeats. They managed to pull it back together recently, with wins against Busan and Gwangju respectively. But it really shows instability in the side, losing their last game against Asan.

What is amazing for Bucheon is, after 11 games, they have still yet to pick up a draw, a feat, which has them, still sat in 2nd place in the league. Bucheon will still hope to continue with their positioning in the league, but playing on Monday and losing to Asan Mugunghwa, could be a real blow for the side.

Prediction

Since the last encounter, between the two sides, it is amazing to say that Seoul E-Land have actually been on better form than Bucheon 1995. They have picked up eight points in five games, where Bucheon have only managed six. Bucheon, however, are playing at home and are still pushing to be in serious contention at the end of the season for promotion.

With both teams coming off a defeat when they meet on Saturday night, it will be interesting to see the two teams' approaches. I hope to see a fast paced game, with one team wanting to take all three points. I would be more than happy with a draw, as long as E-Land play completely different to how they set out last week against Busan. The game was challenging to watch, with the constant Busan attack for over ninety minutes.

Hopefully, a stronger team will be fielded this week, and more of a fighting attitude from the side, but I would say these are the two most unpredictable teams in the league at the moment. They do not know if they are picking up or losing points to any team in the league, regardless of their form or position.

Predicted Score: Bucheon 1995 2-2 Seoul E-Land