FA Cup Preview: FC Anyang vs Changwon City

FC Anyang are looking to break another record in their journey to be FA Cup champions, with their furthest run in the cup being this years third round. With this match against a third division opponent, in Changwon City, they could do one better with a victory seeing them into the quarter finals.

Last Time Out

FC Anyang 0 - 0 Ansan Greeners

FC Anyang opened their revamped stadium with a great atmosphere thanks to a huge attendance of over 11,000 coming out to support the team. Whilst the game itself was lackluster the fans definitely enjoyed the weather and atmosphere. 

The game was a very tight affair with both teams having spells of pressure, but it's hard to say that Anyang weren't the better side overall. Alex's headed effort in the first half of the game was the closest either team got to scoring, but it was deflected just wide of the mark to all the Anyang fans' despair. There were some half chances near the latter stages of the game, when Ansan had became very focused on holding onto a 0-0 draw, but nothing came to fruition. 

It's a hard result for Anyang especially being that it was their home opener, but it's still a solid performance by the team in comparison to last years opening games. They lined up in a very attacking system, yet they seemed to be very cautious going forward. With the pressure off and with a later kick off against a lesser opponent they are more likely to play the more free flowing attacking football that has got them into the top four in the league so far.

Previous Meetings 

The last, and only, time these teams have met was last year in the FA Cup when Anyang came out victorious with a 2-1 victory at home. Anyang, at that time, were going through one of their roughest patches as a club and Changwon played quite well. It was positive sign that they still came away with a victory. However, despite this positive omen, Anyang should take this seriously still, with victory and progression in the cup meaning more fixtures against K league 1 opposition. 

Changwon City

Changwon also drew their last game 0 - 0 with Mokpo City in what was another tense affair with both teams having few chances at scoring throughout the game. Changwon City allegedly benched some star men to rest them for Anyang so we will see how much an extra impact the rested players can have. Changwon City are not having a very good domestic campaign currently sitting 7th in an 8 team league. Their path to the 3rd round of the FA Cup has been relatively equal to their level, but they shouldn't be carelessly considered as easy by Anyang.

Who To Watch 

With the FA Cup comes heavy rotation of the squad, so it's a difficult task to provide a firm idea of who will be playing. That being said, it's most likely going to be Kovtulyuk leading the line for Anyang with Kim Sin-cheol possibly alongside him with a more direct 3-5-2 approach. That is very different to what is seen in the league with a 5-2-3 or 5-3-2 depending on the situation. Kovtulyuk still isn't quite match fit and had his game time has been limited, but with the help of the cup he's been able to secure more minutes.

Expect Cho Kyu-sung to come off the bench if the game is stalling out, but with a very young and tireless team probably starting, the game should be played at a fast enough pace to grind out the K3 team's fitness and take advantage with their quality.

Prediction 

Anyang have a very strong unbeaten streak still alive and with the momentum of going further than they've ever gone before in the FA Cup, alongside their new stadium changes, this is the perfect opportunity for keeping the Anyang run going. Whilst I don't think Changwon City will be an easy match this Anyang team have a lot of ability and should be able to slowly grind out a result.

Also, the players available for this match are likely to be of a higher quality and will be more tactically prepared for this encounter. With the manager choosing to rest players for this game it shows the importance that he is putting on this game, which most importantly shows he is not expecting it to be a walk over. That is a great sign that this match could be competitive. 

Expect Anyang to start strong at their refurbished home and build upon their unbeaten streak even further. Kovtulyuk has a lot of ability and will be most likely to score. With his track record at other clubs being very good look for him to bag one, or maybe two, in this third round game.

Anyang 2 - 0 Changwon City