Preview: Daejeon Citizen vs Busan IPark

After a fourth defeat of the season, and second within just a few days, Daejeon Citizen have the unenviable task of attempting to stop a very much in-form Busan IPark side in K League 2 Round 10 this Sunday. Busan make the trip north on the back of a resounding 4-1 win over Seoul E-Land and with just one defeat in five with four victories.

Overview

via Soccerway

Last Time Out

Daejeon Citizen 0-1 Asan Mugunghwa

The Purples slumped to their second home defeat in the space of three days, succumbing to a Ko Muyeol strike in the ninth minute at home to Asan. The on-loan Jeonbuk Hyundai forward found the bottom corner with a sweetly struck shot from just outside the area that left Citizen custodian, Kim Jinyoung, rooted to the spot.

Daejeon huffed and puffed in the second half but were unable to find a breakthrough. The defeat, Daejeon's fourth of the campaign, has left Ko Jongsoo's men in ninth place.

Highlights: here

Busan IPark 4-1 Seoul E-Land

Promotion favourites Busan IPark easily dispatched of Seoul E-Land on Wednesday night in a resounding 4-1 victory. The South Coast side were two-goals-to-the-good inside just 24 minutes thanks to strikes from Kim Myoungjun and Han Jiho. Douglas Coutinho halved the deficit on 69 minutes for the visitors but Kim Myoungjun added his second just three minute later before Hungarian forward Soma Novothny put the game out of sight with a fourth eight minutes form time.

Highlights: here

Previous Meetings

The last time these two sides came to blows was on the 7th April in round five of the current season. Busan ran out 2-1 winners, despite Daejeon taking the lead through Aurelian Chițu on the hour mark. Lee Dongjun equalised on 73 before Diego fired in a late, late winner deep into stoppage time to secure the win for IPark.

The Purples failed in their attempts to exact revenge following last year's Promotion Playoff Final defeat at the Gudeok on the 1st December. Daejeon were put to task by a clinical Busan side with goals from Rômulo, Noh Haengseok and Shin Youngjun.

The most recent meeting in Daejeon resulted in a 1-0 defeat for Ko Jongsoo's side, Brazilian playmaker Rômulo with the only goal of the game in the 71st minute.At Purple Arena, these two teams have gone toe-to-toe on 24 occasions with Citizen recording 12 wins to Busan's seven and five draws. Busan can boast of the stronger overall record, however, with 24 wins to Daejeon's 14 and 10 draws.

Team News

Citizen custodian Park Juwon remains a doubt through injury but Daejeon manager Ko Jongsoo might feel the need to recall the 28 year-old to the starting eleven sooner rather than later given the team's poor form in his absence. Park's replacement, Kim Jinyoung, still appears to be suffering from 'ring rust' after playing just three first team game in 12 months.

Elsewhere, 19 year-old centre back Lee Jeesol is due to begin international duty with the Korea U20 squad. Yun Kyungbo, who came in for Lee during the Asan defeat on Wednesday, is expected to keep his place at the heart of the Daejeon defence. Meanwhile, Shin Hakyoung is just one yellow card away from a one-match ban.

Daejeon Citizen starting XI vs Asan Mugunghwa, K League 2 R9

The Adversary

Busan coach Cho Deokje sprang a surprise in midweek by setting his side up in a 4-4-2 formation for the first time this season. In place of dynamic midfielder Kim Jin-gyu, Hungarian striker Soma Novothny lined up to partner to Lee Jeonghyeop up top, and the more direct and physical approach paid dividends as three of Busan's four goals came from set pieces. Novothny in particular was a nuisance all evening for the E-Land back line, scoring one header and going close with another two.

Although Busan are likely to revert back to a 4-3-3 for the visit to Daejeon, especially as Lee Jeonghyeop is an injury doubt after being stretchered off in midweek, it bodes well that Cho is willing to change systems and personnel when required. Against Jeonnam last weekend Busan played well but seemed to lack a Plan B, and a well-drilled Dragons side kept them at arm's length for long spells of the game. Jeonnam played with a back three supported by wing backs in that win, and they were the first team this season to prevent a free-scoring Busan side from finding the back of the net. After successive losses, it will be interesting to see if Daejeon boss Ko Jongsoo abandons his usual 4-3-3 to replicate Jeonnam's success in containing the K2 top scorers.

Busan have now scored 21 goals in nine games, seven more than any other team in the division. They have also looked much more stable defensively over the past three games, but they still only have one clean sheet to their name this season. Both centre backs were culpable for E-Land's goal on Wednesday as they both challenged for the same high ball and still managed to let it get past them, while more questions will be asked of goalkeeper Kim Hyunggeun after he let Coutinho's subsequent shot go through him. As long as these defensive errors continue to surface, Busan will always give opposition teams a chance. With all of their attacking talent, however, it's also difficult to bet against them getting on the scoresheet.
- Tom Marcantonio

Busan IPark lineup vs Seoul E-Land, K League 2 Round 9

Who To Watch

Daejeon Citizen - Shin Hakyoung

Shin Hakyoung has been a mainstay in the centre of the park for Daejeon Citizen this season, racking up nine appearances already having managed just 15 in 2018. The former Gyeongnam man has two assists this season, both of which came in the 3-1 win over Jeonnam Dragons in round two. Shin is an energetic midfielder with good feet, and can pick out a pass. Shin has an 81% passing accuracy rate, and 95% of all dribbles made have been successful.  If Daejeon are to get a result over Busan then winning the midfield battle will be vitally important, especially with the likes of Rômulo dictating the pace of the game.

Busan IPark - Rômulo

Last year's K League 2 MVP, Rômulo, has picked up where the left off in 2019. The 23 year-old, who joined Busan in 2017 from Brazilian Serie B side Bragantino has six goals already this term from nine appearances, just four behind last year's goal tally of 10. Rômulo has 6.03 expected goals (xG) and 78% passing accuracy so far this season.

Prediction

Despite having three home games in a row, Daejeon Citizen have failed to capitalise on their home advantage after suffering back-to-back losses in rounds eight and nine. In stark contrast to the Purples poor form, Busan are in fine fettle with just one defeat in six with four wins, bagging 17 goals. Given how well Cho Dukje's side are performing of late, this one has away win written all of it.