Preview: Ansan Greeners vs Suwon FC

High-flying Suwon FC are the visitors Wa~ Stadium on Saturday evening to face off against Lim Wan-seop's Ansan Greeners unbeaten in four. However, third place Suwon will be looking to put some distance between themselves and the playoff chasing pack.

Last Time Out

Ansan played out a 0-0 draw away to Line 4 Derby rivals FC Anyang. It was the inaugural game of the season at Anyang's ground as they unveiled three new pitch-side stands, and the carnival atmosphere proved intimidating as Anyang were keen to show off their improved ground with a win. However Ansan stood their ground and even threatened at times, in what was a solid display.

Lee Hee-seong was restored to the Ansan goal, with the in-form Lee In-jae handing over the captain's armband. Felipe Dorta also made a rare start leading the line, using his pace to make a nuisance amongst the Anyang back-line. Without Vintecenco however, suspended for the game, Ansan lacked any real bite.

Despite being unbeaten in four, Ansan have won just one of those games, and they are beginning to fall behind the play-off spots. The Greeners need to turn draws into wins to remain in touch with the top four.

Highlights: here

Previous Meetings

Ansan were defeated 2-1 at Castle Park earlier in the season. Jang Hyeok-jin scored Ansan's goal and Masatoshi Ishida had a goal ruled out by VAR. Top scorer Vintecenco was suspended for the game.

Highlights: here

Team News

Leading scorer Vintecenco returns from suspension. A key selection choice for Lim Wan-seop will be in between the sticks; club captain Lee Hee-seong was dropped after a poor performance in the 3-0 defeat at Busan, with former Gwangju and Seongnam keeper Hwang In-jae coming in keeping two clean sheets. However his own goal cost Ansan three points in Asan and Lim's ruthless selection policy meant that he was dropped for the Anyang game. A decent performance should see Lee retain the number one spot for now.

The Adversary 

It seemed like Suwon FC were armed with another tactical option with a 4-3-3 last Saturday against Jeonnam. In this match, manager Kim Dae-ui brought out the 4-3-3 formation which was pretty successful during the recent league matches after a 3-5-2 formation was predominantly adopted at the start of the campaign. The formation maximised the talented side-backs’ ability to run up and down the flank and provided situations where Suwon outnumbered the Dragons. Thus, when the 4-3-3 formation was brought out in the recent matches, it was deemed to be due to the absence of vital side-back, Lee Hak-min.

The change in formation was rather successful yet provided new options to manager Kim’s progress towards a dream promotion. If the previous formation was focused on the hard-working full backs, the newly applied formation saw balanced contribution to its offence from both sides. Also, it allowed the midfielders and forwards in the attacking third to move amongst themselves freely.

Furthermore, Estonian forward Henri Anier began to flourish after suffering a goal drought up until the ninth round of the season, fired two goals in the previous two games. Hence, it is notable to see how the tactical adjustment is beginning to take effect. It is highly likely that Kim Dae-ui will continue to set his side up in the new formation with the same players in the upcoming game against Ansan Greeners.
-Lee Youngsub

Prediction

It is a must win for Ansan, and they can feel aggrieved that they did not come away with more in the return fixture earlier the season. They will be looking to keep their good defensive form going and that might just allow them to take the points on Saturday.

Predicted Score: Ansan Greeners 1-0 Suwon FC

K League 2 Round 12 Preview: here