Preview: Jeonnam Dragons vs FC Anyang

This Saturday sees unbeaten Jeonnam Dragons host FC Anyang in K League 2. The Dragons lost their consecutive clean sheet record Wednesday night, whereas Anyang finally recorded a win and moved off the bottom of the table. KLU's Joshua Higgins previews the upcoming game.

Match: Jeonnam Dragons vs FC Anyang
Venue: Gwangyang Football Stadium
Kick-off: Saturday, 30th May 2020; 4pm

Last Time Out

Jeonnam Dragons 1 - 1 Chungnam Asan FC

The fourth round game saw both Jeonnam finally conceding a goal, and scoring one from open play, their only other previous goal coming from a set piece. A draw was probably a fair result but one chance went begging to be put away, only for Go Tae-won to acrobatically miss the ball in the 79th minute.

Despite conceding their first goal and generally looking a little more shaky at the back, they still dealt with threats well and were a far more attacking force than they looked in previous matches. Especially when new number nine Julian Kristoffersen came on in the second half. He provided the assist, a squared ball across the face of goal, and perhaps now he can kick on after been given some time to settle into Korean life.

Highlights

Seoul E-Land 0 - 2 FC Anyang

Anyang earned their first points of the season with a win over this season's entertainers Seoul E-Land. Though the score looks convincing, their performance didn't, the win coming more from mediocre defending, and missed chances from the hosts, rather than any domination of play from the visitors.

However, regardless of performance this win will bring confidence to a team who were previously bottom of the table, but now sit in seventh. At times they did produce good passages of play and will hope to replicate that against a Jeonnam team who may be unsure about Anyang, given that they have shown they can certainly score goals this season.

Highlights

Previous Meetings

In recent history, Jeonnam and Anyang have faced each other four times, following the relegation of the Dragons in 2018, with two wins apiece for either team. Both teams only recorded wins when playing at home, including a 4-2 thriller for Anyang in August 2019.

Going off of this, you'd have to say Jeonnam are the favorites, however it remains to be seen how playing in an empty stadium will affect the players on the pitch.

Team News

The Dragons had a much better presence in the game when Chu Jeong-ho was substituted in the 38th minute, and it's unclear whether that was a tactical decision or down to injury, so he may or may not play a part in Saturday's game. Kristoffersen is the obvious choice to make his way back in to the starting eleven given his influence when he came on against Asan. Jeonnam still have winter signing Rodolfo out with injury.

For Anyang, striker Maurides may be out this Saturday after missing both fixtures against Gyeongnam and Seoul E-Land due to injury. Other than that, manager Kim Hyung-yul should be happy to name an unchanged team after recording their first win of the season last time out.

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The Adversary

Although Anyang have been bottom without a point previous to the Seoul E-Land game, they've shown they can compete and score goals, but have just been lacking something to get them over the finish line to get the points they deserved.

They won't be any pushovers on Saturday, especially after Wednesday's win that will have given them the confidence they very much needed to believe they can travel to different grounds and take points home with them.

Anyang will obviously be aware of the Dragon's defensive prowess, but will also know that they struggle to score, so may feel justified in trying to go for the win in this one.

Who To Watch

Julian Kristoffersen hasn't had the easiest start to life in K League 2, and it was obvious to all that watched him play his first few games that he was lacking confidence, which is to be expected when a young man, recently turning 23, makes a move abroad to a completely different culture and style of football.

But his impact against Chungnam Asan on Wednesday should allow him to see more game time, after his assist he looked a different player, providing an option on the last man, and getting into threatening positions to use his height to his advantage, something he didn't manage in his first three appearances.

Manager Jeon very well may seek to use Julian as an impact sub, but if he does get some decent game time he may well get his first goal this weekend.

Prediction

Both teams looked almost different teams last time out, with Jeonnam trying to play a slightly more expansive style of play, and Anyang holding out to finally win a game, so this one will be difficult to predict.

The Dragons may see this as an opportunity to fine tune their attacking style, while Anyang must surely feel they can get something out of this, despite Jeonnam being only one of two teams who are still unbeaten.

To me, they look fairly equal so I'm going for a draw.

Full-time prediction: Jeonnam Dragons 1 - 1 FC Anyang