Preview: Suwon FC vs Gwangju FC

It is set to be another big match this week where the title contenders for K League 2 Suwon FC and Gwangju FC will go head to head in round 16 for the 2019 season. Both teams clinched a win last week after a long international break and will be hoping to pick up a vital win come Monday night.

Match: Suwon FC (3rd) vs Gwangju FC (1st) 
Venue: Suwon Sports Complex
Kickoff: Monday June 24th, 2019 19:00 KST

Last Time Out

Suwon FC 2-0 Asan Mugunghwa 

It was a do-or-die match for both sides last weekend with the result having had a say on the standings in the K League 2 table. Also, as both are contenders for K League 2 title, a loss would have been a huge blow to either side.

Suwon FC were the first to get themselves on the score sheet through Kim Byung-oh who was given an opportunity to start. As Kim Byung-oh was dribbling down the right, An Byong-jun dashed into the penalty box to latch onto Kim's well hit cross. Asan’s defenders tried to stop An from scoring, only to find the ball nestling into their goal in the 44th minute. It was the perfect illustration of aerial dominance from the 29-year-old striker.

Asan exerted pressure on Suwon’s defence to get themselves back in the game and were rewarded with a penalty kick after a VAR check in the 40th minute. It was a golden opportunity for the away side to equalize. However, Ko Mu-yeol’s spot kick went past the post to the relief of the home fans.

A few minutes later, an attack led by captain Baek Sung-dong, who spotted Uzbekistan midfielder Zovlon open on the right side of the penalty box. After picking the ball up from Baek, Zovlon calmly sent the ball in towards An Byong-jun who was unmarked in the area and on-hand to score an easy goal.

Highlights: here

Gwangju FC 4-1 Bucheon 1995

Gwangju were strong favorites last weekend when the league leaders hosted Bucheon FC 1995, and proved just why with a splendid performance. Park Jin-seop's men found an opener on 56 minutes with a free kick, Lee Eu-ddeum who dons the number eight jersey, with a stunning Steven Gerrard-esque strike. The goalkeeper lunged for the ball but was powerless to prevent the Yellows from taking the lead.

Just three minutes later, Gwangju's attacks resembled a situation that could only happen in an EA Sports FIFA game. The shots made by Gwangju’s forwards were denied twice in a row by the post and third was blocked by the keeper. Luckily, however, the ball which was blocked by the keeper rolled to Felipe’s right foot which, uncontested, he duly converted.

Fourteen minutes later, Felipe went on to score another goal to secure his place on the top of the K League 2 scorers chart. After putting pressure on Bucheon’s defenders, the Brazilian snatched the ball on the right flank before dribbling in and converting with his left as the keeper dashed out.

Bucheon looked to be sparking some sort of comeback in the 77th minute with a goal from the spot by Marlon. However, Gwangju, seldom ever complacent, made it four-one seven minutes later through Willyan. It was a huge victory for Gwangju FC.

Highlights: here

Previous Meetings

In their previous meeting this season, Gwangju FC, then the home team, emerged as the winners after the 90 minutes. Gwangju went ahead with Felipe and Ashurmatov scoring in the first half of the game. Suwon then came back in the 70th minute through Chisom Egbuchulam but failed to find an equalizer before the final whistle. There had been many changes specially to Suwon FC since that match, as formation and players who start have changed and now Suwon FC sit third in the table.

Team News

It has been confirmed from Suwon FC’s manager Kim Dae-eui that the attacking midfielder Sebastian Velasquez have parted ways with Suwon FC. The manager said in an interview:“I was not fully happy with his performances but it was not that much of an issue after all. Velasquez gave his best whenever he was played”. However, Manager Kim’s wish to rise up the table further and have a good go at automatic promotion may have helped sway his decision to bid farewell the Colombian midfielder.

Central defender Jang Jun-young is back in contention after missing the win over Asan through suspension. Leading scorer An Byong-jun, however, will miss out after picking up a third booking of the campaign in the aforementioned 2-0 win over Asan Mugunghwa. Fellow striker Henri Anier made his comeback from injury, coming on as a late substitute and so could be called upon to replace the North Korean.

The Adversary

Gwangju is currently the favorite in the title race and for automatic promotion to K League 1. They have not lost a single game in the league this season and with their Brazilian striker Felipe performing quite like how Marcão did for Gyeongnam FC in 2017, the atmosphere around the club is better than ever.

However, it is also true that Gwangju have drawn a number of games this season. With total of six games that ended as draw this term, this is the higher number of draws from any team in K League 2. Gwangju manager Park Jin-seop will be hoping his team can be more effective and efficient to turn these draws into wins.

Prediction

Won one, drawn one and lost three is the head-to-head record for Suwon FC against the Monday's visitors since 2018. This record is nothing to be ignored and especially when both teams are in the best form of the campaign, something which may come to act as a fear factor for Suwon.

However, Suwon can boast of having the third and fourth highest scorers in K League 2 in their midst, namely Chisom and An Byong-jun. Although An will miss out, if Suwon can utilise Chisom to great effect, the hosts may well come out on top. A defeat for Gwangju could see them drop to second should Busan IPark beat Ansan Greeners.

Predicted Score: Suwon FC 2-0 Gwangju FC