Preview: FC Anyang Vs Suwon FC

Anyang host the surprise package of the season in Suwon FC this Sunday in the K League 2. After a win at home last time out verses Jeonnam Dragons, Anyang have breathed life into their playoff hopes. Can Anyang start to build their home into a fortress or will Suwon make a return to their winning ways?

Last Time Out

Anyang 2 – 1 Jeonnam Dragons

Anyang managed to edge out a tight victory against Jeonnam Dragons and in the process secured the vital three points that they needed to get back into playoff contention. Anyang scored first when in the 28^th minute Palacios took advantage of a dangerous cross, that escaped the attention of the Jeonnam defence, to place the ball into the corner of the net. 

In the 64^th minute the Jeonnam Dragons thought they had scored an equalizer when Lee Seul-chan  escaped his marker on the wing and crossed a sensational ball onto the head of Kim Geon-woong. But the celebrations were cut short when VAR spotted a foul by Lee before the cross was delivered.

The Jeonnam fans weren’t to be disappointed for long as in the 82^nd minute Lee You-hyeon composed himself and curved a ball into the near post after an excellent turn. 

However, Anyang were awarded a controversial penalty in the 86^th minute when the ball collided with Lee Ji-nam just before it bounced off of Cho Kyu-sung. After a long and arduous VAR review it was given as a penalty. Manager Kim Hyung-yeol decided that Alex would be the one given the chance to score from the spot. Making no mistake of his chance, Alex scored Anyang’s second and his fifth of the season. With the game now going into the dying embers Anyang defended for the final minutes and held on to a 2-1 victory.

Previous Meetings

The last time these teams met the game finished 2-1 to Anyang. Number 9 and now club favorite, Cho Kyu-Sung scored a brace in that game helping his side get a victory. Anyang will be hoping they can recreate that second half performance at Suwon with another repeat victory this time around. Being that it’s one of Suwon’s few losses this season, both teams will be analyzing that last game. Suwon will be sure they can get revenge after that disappointing collapse.

Team News

The Anyang squad that played against Jeonnam Dragons can be expected to be the majority of the starting eleven for the Suwon match. The only possible changes could be at the back with the yellow card accumulation starting to be worrying, Ryu Eon-Jae, Choi Jo-Jung, Ku Bon-Sang, Lee Seon-Geol and Yu-Jong-Hyun all picking up yellow cards in the victory.

It’s possible Kovtalyuk could be starting ahead of Cho Kyu-Sung who seemed relatively tired after the full ninety minutes, but after his past performance against Suwon he might be favored. Suwon FC shouldn’t have any yellow card suspensions or any emerging injuries from their loss to Gwangju on Saturday.

 Adversary

Suwon are having a magnificent season thus far. Before their loss to Gwangju they hadn’t lost a game since playing Anyang on the 1^st of May. They’ve scored twenty five goals in sixteen games and are having no issues with maintaining a clean sheet, with two, 2-0 victories in the last five games. They’re having one of their best spells as a club, which is a big worry for Anyang. 

Suwon will be a very compact and disciplined team. With confidence a plenty this season they’ll be dangerous to beat for nearly any team in the league, let alone a normally mid table Anyang. Suwon will be analyzing their 2-1 loss earlier in the season and hoping to make the appropriate changes for this game. If Suwon can exploit the weak Anyang back line they could score quite a few goals. It will be an interesting tactical battle for the Suwon manager to decipher.

Who To Watch

The only player who could be picked for the player to watch surely has to be Cho Kyu-sung. Anyang’s number 9 has been in sensational form after his brace last time verses Suwon and will look to repeat this at home. The dynamic number 9 is one of the best hold up strikers in the K league 2 and at the young age of 21 still has a lot of potential. He’s been unfortunate in recent games not to score more, but he’s always a willful runner and is committed to taking every chance that he’s given.

He might not be the most prolific finisher, but if he keeps up his hard work ethic and with the creative spark of Alex behind him it’s nearly guaranteed that he will be on the score sheet soon. 

Prediction

Although on paper Suwon have been a better team this season, they seem to have an issue dealing with Anyang’s style of play. Suwon will score and will be a dangerous team, but with confidence and cohesion returning for Anyang they won’t go down easily. Expect a very tight game, but Anyang will throw everything at Suwon and try to continue their trend of being their bogey team.

Predicted Score : Anyang 2 – 1 Suwon FC