Preview: Gwangju FC vs FC Anyang

Fully recovered from their August blip, Gwangju could clinch the title this weekend should they win and Busan IPark lose on Sunday at home to Ansan Greeners. They face an Anyang side who sent shock waves through KLeague 2 by hammering the Yellows 7-1 in July. 

Last Time Out

Asan Mugunghwa 0-1 Gwangju

Gwangju boss Park Jin-seop stuck with his newly-formed 4-4-2 formation, which has served him so well since Felipe's return from suspension. 28-year-old defender Kim Young-bin made his first start for the Yellows since 2017 on his return from military service with Sangju Sangmu, while Kim Joon-hyung settled into defensive midfield. Asan manager Park Dong-hyeok opted for a 4-3-3 with Oh Se-hun leading the line. With Gwangju keeping things tight with a seven-point lead at the summit in their mind, Willyan struck on the hour-mark to claim all three points and a place in the 'Team of the Week' alongside Hong Joon-ho. A trademark curling effort, Willyan found the bottom right-hand corner from 18 yards.

Anyang 1-2 Bucheon 1995

Anyang were without young starlet Cho Kyu-sung for the visit of Bucheon and run the risk of losing third place thanks to just one win in five. Visiting boss Song Seon-ho had Kim Ryun-do operating as a sole striker in front of a packed midfield up against Anyang's 4-3-3. Bucheon took the lead on 15 minutes with Nilson da Silva twisting on the edge of the box to score on the half-volley. What appeared at that stage to be the clear goal of the weekend, An Tae-hyun fired a 30-yard screamer into the postage stamp on the cusp of half time to make things comfortable. Kim Hyeong-yeol was given some hope thanks to Kim Won-min scoring a copycat goal to An's just three minutes after coming on as substitute. However, that was as good as it got for the hosts.

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Previous Meetings

Anyang's 7-1 demolition of Gwangju in July stands out as one of the most memorable moments of the 2019 campaign. Previously unbeaten, Gwangju fell behind to two early goals before Doo Hyun-seok pulled one back. The Yellows certainly knew that they wouldn't just steamroll the league on their journey home, capitulating in the final 15 minutes to see six different goal scorers in total firing past Yoon Pyeong-gook. 

June saw a better day out for Park's side with a routine 1-0 win thanks to Lee Eu-ddeum, while Manuel Palacios grabbed a late point for Anyang in Jeollanamdo back in April. Travelling south at a similar time last season, the Purples fell to a 2-1 defeat with Felipe's brace showing what was to come this term. 

The Adversary

Winning just once on the road since May, Anyang are the second highest scorers in the division and boast three strikers on a goal tally of 10 or more. With one of those, Cho Kyu-sung, returning on Saturday, Kim Hyung-yeol will have to decide how much firepower to display from the start against such a strong Gwangju side. His decision in July to use gung-ho tactics and play Gwangju at their own game reaped rewards.

Due to poor recent form they could slip to fifth and out of the play-off picture. Sitting just four points ahead of Asan Mugunghwa, the Purples can count themselves lucky that Asan have failed to capitalise with just one win in nine. Interestingly, all could hinge on the final day, with Asan playing host to Kim's men on November 9th.

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Prediction

Park Jin-seop may be missing Hong Joon-ho through suspension but has numerous adequate replacements at his disposal. Kim Young-bin fitted back in seamlessly last week to settle the defence and with Willyan in fine fettle it looks likely they will find the net having only failed to do so once in their last 19 outings. While Anyang have that mental advantage of July's thrashing, it's a different stage of the season we're in now. 

Gwangju 2-0 Anyang