Preview: Suwon Bluewings vs Incheon United
The Suwon Bluewings will hope to register their 3rd win of the season against the K League 1's bottom club when they entertain Incheon United on Saturday evening. The Bluewings have been dominant throughout the history of this fixture but could back-to-back home losses and Incheon's new signings throw a spanner in the works?
Suwon suffered back-to-back home defeats for the first time this season when they were downed by an out of sorts Pohang Steelers last week. Pohang, despite their form, were good value for their win and could have been a couple of goals ahead before they took the lead on the stroke of half time. Lee Soo-bin, capitalising on a loose ball around the edge of the Suwon area, struck a thunderous 30 yard shot into the bottom corner. The goal was the young players first ever in professional football.
Pohang sealed all three points early in the second half when a simple lob over the top of the Suwon defence caught the home team's high line too far up the pitch. Brazilian winger Wanderson used his pace to reach the ball and slot a cool finish into the side of No Dong-geun's goal.
Incheon United 0-1 Seongnam FC
A single goal was all it took for Seongnam to return home with all three points when they traveled to the Sungui Arena last weekend. That goal came from the boot of Seo Bo-min in the 61st minute after Eder had pulled the ball back to the edge of the penalty area. Seo let fly with a vicious left footed drive across the face of goal that was too hot for Jeong San to handle. The defeat leaves Incheon sitting rock bottom of the league.
Suwon have an imperious record against their rivals winning 27 of these fixtures, compared to Incheon's 5. Incheon last beat the Bluewings in 2013 and historically haven't traveled well to Suwon with their last win at Suwon World Cup Stadium coming back in 2009. Infact, Incheon have only ever claimed 2 wins and 3 draws from their 22 visits to Suwon, making it a very unhappy hunting ground for the Durumi.
Recent years have all seen Suwon dominate this fixture and the Bluewings have picked up 7 wins from the last 10 meetings between the teams.
However, some new summer signings may have invigorated a tired squad and a tactical switch might spell a way forward for Incheon. Yoo Sang-chul took more of a traditional approach in their match against Seongnam, opting for two strikers. New signing Olanrewaju Kehinde will take some time to bed into the squad but with a more aggressive approach from the manager Incheon may have some life left in their quest to avoid relegation.
Last Time Out
Suwon Bluewings 0-2 Pohang SteelersSuwon suffered back-to-back home defeats for the first time this season when they were downed by an out of sorts Pohang Steelers last week. Pohang, despite their form, were good value for their win and could have been a couple of goals ahead before they took the lead on the stroke of half time. Lee Soo-bin, capitalising on a loose ball around the edge of the Suwon area, struck a thunderous 30 yard shot into the bottom corner. The goal was the young players first ever in professional football.
Pohang sealed all three points early in the second half when a simple lob over the top of the Suwon defence caught the home team's high line too far up the pitch. Brazilian winger Wanderson used his pace to reach the ball and slot a cool finish into the side of No Dong-geun's goal.
Incheon United 0-1 Seongnam FC
A single goal was all it took for Seongnam to return home with all three points when they traveled to the Sungui Arena last weekend. That goal came from the boot of Seo Bo-min in the 61st minute after Eder had pulled the ball back to the edge of the penalty area. Seo let fly with a vicious left footed drive across the face of goal that was too hot for Jeong San to handle. The defeat leaves Incheon sitting rock bottom of the league.
Previous Meetings
These pair have already met twice this year with Suwon triumphing on both occasions. Two goals from Adam Taggart was enough to give Suwon a home win in late March and funnily enough, the same man scored two again in Suwon's recent 3-2 win away to Incheon.Suwon have an imperious record against their rivals winning 27 of these fixtures, compared to Incheon's 5. Incheon last beat the Bluewings in 2013 and historically haven't traveled well to Suwon with their last win at Suwon World Cup Stadium coming back in 2009. Infact, Incheon have only ever claimed 2 wins and 3 draws from their 22 visits to Suwon, making it a very unhappy hunting ground for the Durumi.
Recent years have all seen Suwon dominate this fixture and the Bluewings have picked up 7 wins from the last 10 meetings between the teams.
Team News
Long term injuries will mean that both Yeom Ki-hun and Jo Sung-jin will miss this match. However, Jeon Se-jin is nearing a return following a stress fracture of his leg and he could make the matchday squad for the first time since returning from the U-20 World Cup. New signing Terry Antonis missed last week's defeat to Pohang as he continues to regain full match fitness but is expected to take his place among the substitutes for this game. Han Eui-kwon has looked tired in the summer heat as of late and Lee Lim-saeng might see this match an opportunity to pair Adam Taggart and Dejan Damjanović together in attack.The Adversary
There isn't much to say about Incheon that hasn't already been said a million times this season. They remain the lowest goal scorers in the league (15 goals in in 24 games) and they rank in the bottom three of the league for crosses attempted, touches in the opponents box and completed passes. If this is to be the season that Incheon do finally make the drop down to the K League 2 then it will be their attack that is to blame.However, some new summer signings may have invigorated a tired squad and a tactical switch might spell a way forward for Incheon. Yoo Sang-chul took more of a traditional approach in their match against Seongnam, opting for two strikers. New signing Olanrewaju Kehinde will take some time to bed into the squad but with a more aggressive approach from the manager Incheon may have some life left in their quest to avoid relegation.
What To Watch
The Bluewings may be on an impressive run of five wins in seven matches but their backline has shown some vulnerability over recent games against Seongnam, Pohang and Incheon. It is no surprise that that defensive decline (they kept three clean sheets in other recent matches against Daegu, Sangju and Jeju) has come at a time when Yang Sang-min or Park Hyung-jin have been used as a temporary centre-back. The injury to Jo Sung-jin and the recent suspension of Min Sang-gi left Lee Lim-saeng with a sparsity of defenders and as such the defence has suffered. Min has now finished his suspension and should come back into the side at the expense of veteran Yang Sang-min and will hope to shut up shop against the worst attack in the league.Prediction
Back-to-back home defeats for Suwon will have stung but they couldn't have asked for a better fixture in order to rebound. History would suggest that this should be another comfortable win for the Bluewings against their neighbours. However, Incheon's new bold approach could cause some problems for a Suwon defence that hasn't quite been up to scratch recently.
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