Preview: Sangju Sangmu vs Suwon Bluewings

Suwon Bluewings and Sangju Sangmu go head to head for the second time in this K League 1 season, when they meet at Sangju Stadium on Saturday evening. The army team broke a long losing streak last weekend, whilst Suwon continued their fine run of goal scoring form by overcoming a talented Gangwon side. Sangju will be looking to add further ground between themselves and bottom placed Daegu, whilst Suwon look to keep pace with Gyeongnam FC in the fight for 2nd place. 

Last Time Out

Suwon made it three home wins out of three when they beat Gangwon FC by two goals to nil on last Sunday evening. Gangwon had the better of the opening half, creating a couple of opportunities that might have produced a goal had Jung Jo-gook's shooting been a little sharper. But it was the home side that took the lead in the 36th minute, when a foul on Yoo Ju-an gave Suwon a free-kick from 30 yards out. Yeom Ki-hun expertly bent the ball around the Gangwon wall and the ball nestled into the corner of the net.

Suwon peppered the Gangwon goal throughout the 2nd half and had it not been for a Man of the Match performance from Lee Beom-young, the Gangwon goalkeeper, Han Eui-kwon and Yang Sang-min might have added further goals for Suwon. However, the home team were able to seal their win in stoppage time, when Lee Beom-young played a loose pass around the halfway line, which an alert and sprightly Dejan was able to pounce on. With the goalkeeper in no mans land, the Montenegrin striker was able to chip into an unguarded net, from a full 40 yards out to hand Suwon the victory.

Full highlights can be seen here.

Meanwhile, Sangju picked up their first win in eight games when they ran out 2-1 winners against an inconsistent Pohang Steelers team. Sangju took the lead in the first half after Pohang failed to deal with a cross at the near post and Kim Min-woo was on hand to slot the ball away. But Pohang pulled themselves level in the 29th minute through a Song Sung-min wonder goal. The forward, picking the ball up at the left side-line, cut his way in towards the penalty area and bent a marvelous shot around the goalkeeper and into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.

And Sangju scored a controversial winning goal on the stroke of halftime. A clash of heads between Allerman and Chapman, resulted in the former being left prone on the floor. The referee strangely decided to let play go on, and as a Pohang defender raced to put a loose ball out of play to allow his team mate to receive treatment, he was tackled by Sangju's Kim Tae-hwan. The winger picked up the ball and sent in a cross on to the head of Lee Kwang-seon who, under no challenge at all, was able to head the ball into the back of the net.

Full highlights can be seen here. 

Previous Meetings

Suwon picked up their first home victory of the 2018 K League 1 season when these two teams last met in mid-April, with Suwon winning 2-1. That day, first half goals from Kim Jong-woo and Waguininho were enough to ensure Suwon won despite a second half comeback from Sangju.

Suwon have now won their last three games against Sangju and are unbeaten in their last nine games against the military team. And their last defeat in the fixture came in the 2014 FA Cup when Sangju required extra time and penalties in order to overcome the Bluewings. In total, Sangju have only won 7 of the 37 meeting between the two teams whilst Suwon have won 22.

Team News

News broke this week that Brazilian winger, Waguininho, will be missing for the remainder of the season following an unfortunate clash with Gangwon FC's goalkeeper. The 28 year old has damaged his cruciate ligament and will likely undergo surgery this week leaving Suwon without a key component of their first team squad.

In the absence of Waguininho, it is likely that Dejan will be recalled from his position of "super sub" and will return to the starting line-up. Han Eui-kwon will also be called upon more often and will slot into the left-sided attacking role.

Defender, Kwak Kwang-seon also suffered an injury in that Gangwon game and is likely to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. Koo Ja-ryoung, much like he did in the Gangwon game, will step in to play centre-back. But after the departure of Matthew Jurman earlier this month Suwon's defence is looking very short on numbers.

Who To Watch

For the 2nd time in as many weeks, the name on everyone's lips will be that of Yeom Ki-hun. Since switching to play from the right-hand side of the front three the experienced midfielder has been in scintillating form. He is now on a run of three goals and two assists in the last three games. His set-pieces this season have been near perfection and the influence and confidence that he gives to the team is vital.

Prediction

Suwon come into this game having lost only two league games away from home, whilst Sangju have a poor home record having only won three of their ten home games in 2018. And with Suwon's history in this fixture it is difficult to look passed them for a win in this game.

Sangju Sangmu 0-2 Suwon Bluewings