FA Cup Preview: Daejeon Hana Citizen vs FC Seoul

Lead by former FC Seoul manager Hwang Sun-hong, Daejeon Hana Citizen welcome the capital club to Purple Arena this Wednesday night for an intriguing FA Cup 4th Round clash. Wednesday's encounter will be the first in five years, the season during which Seoul went on to win the FA Cup. Daejeon haven't beaten FC Seoul since 2004 but, with financial backing from Hana Financial Group, the Purples pose a different kind of threat nowadays. 

Overview

Fixture: Daejeon Hana Citizen vs FC Seoul, FA Cup 4th Round
Date: Wednesday 15th July 2020, 19:00 KST
Venue: Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Form: Daejeon: LWDWLW Seoul: LLLWDL

Last Time Out

Ansan Greeners 0-2 Daejeon Hana Citizen

Daejeon left it late to seal the points away to Ansan Greeners on Sunday night, picking up a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Yoon Seung-won and Andre Luis in the last eight minutes. It was an open and fairly end to end affair at the Wa~ but despite Daejeon's endeavour, Ansan proved difficult to break down. Eventually, the goal did come though as substitute Yoon Seung-won pounced on a loose ball in the box to bury it into the bottom corner in the 82nd minute. Yoon was involved again for Daejeon's second, his header was parried by Ansan goalkeeper Kim Seon-woo but Andre was on hand to sweep home the rebound. The win moves Daejeon up to second, Ansan meanwhile slip to the foot of the table.

Highlights



Busan IPark 2-0 FC Seoul

Busan IPark piled further misery on FC Seoul with a 2-0 home win over the capital club on Friday night. It had seemed as though FC Seoul had turned the corner with a Gyeongin Derby win over Incheon United prior to the 3-3 with Suwon Bluewings in the Super Match, battling their way back from 3-1 down. But a disappointing result on the south coast thanks to goals from  Kwon Hyuk-gyu and Lee Dong-jun condemned Seoul to a sixth defeat in their last eight outings.

Highlights

Previous Meetings

Wednesday's cup clash will be the first meeting between the two sides since Daejeon's relegation season in 2015 and the first ever in the FA Cup. That year FC Seoul won all three meetings, the most recent was in August of that year at Sangam where goals from Osmar and Yun Ju-tae gave Seoul a 2-0 victory. In June 2015, the two sides met at Purple Arena where it appeared as though Daejeon were heading for an unlikely win over Seoul when Hwang In-beom found the back of the net on 80 minutes.

Osmar and Hwang In-beom challenge for the ball during a K League Classic fixture on 10th June 2015.

However, goals from Everton Santos and Yun Ju-tae on 88 and 89 minutes respectively turned the game on its head. A Kim Hyun-sung strike on April 2015 gave Seoul a 1-0 win for the first meeting that season,, a campaign which resulted in FC Seoul lifting the FA Cup. Daejeon last win over FC Seoul dates back to 2004.

[PATREON: Daejeon Hana Citizen vs FC Seoul Writers' Chat]

Team News

Connor Chapman made his first start for Daejeon during Sunday's 2-0 win over Ansan Greeners but was taken off as a precaution after picking up a knock. The former Socceroo youth skipper may well be rested ahead of next weekend's crunch match with league leaders Suwon FC. Former FC Seoul duo Lee Kyu-ro (shoulder) and Lee Woong-hee (ankle) are both out injured. Former FC Seoul forward Yoon Seung-won came off the bench to give Daejeon an 82nd minute lead but appeared to pick up a knock and had ice strapped to his knee at full time and so may be a doubt for the visit of his former employers.

Daejeon Hana Citizen lineup vs Ansan Greeners, K League 2 Round 10.

For FC Seoul Choi Yong-soo will have a relatively full squad to choose from although central defender Hwang Hyun-soo is a minor doubt. Former Daejeon striker Adriano could be recalled after failing to make the squad against Busan. The likes of Alibaev, Yun Ju-tae and Go Yo-han, who have had to make do with cameos off the bench, will be hoping that they can force their way into the starting XI.

FC Seoul starting lineup versus Busan IPark, K League 1 R11.

[LISTEN: KLU Pod: K League 1 R10 Recap & FA Cup Preview]

The Adversary

It would be fair to say that the 2020 season hasn't quite panned out the way in which FC Seoul would have wanted. It began fairly well, AFC Champions League qualification in the bag with a 4-1 win over Malaysian side Kedah FA then a 1-0 ACL Group Stage win over Melbourne Victory. Three months elapsed before Seoul would take to the field again though due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After which, the league campaign began with a 3-1 loss to Gangwon. However, wins over Gwangju and Pohang followed but then Seoul suffered five straight defeats - a club record - and with 14 goals conceded during that time.

The Gyeongin Derby win over Incheon stemmed the flow then the 3-3 draw with Suwon Bluewings, with Seoul mounting a second half come back, seemed to suggest Seoul were getting back to their normal selves. But, Sunday's defeat to Busan highlighted Seoul's defensive frailties. Dealing with runners from deep is an issue and the wing backs failing to stop crosses is another cause of stress for manager Choi Yong-soo. Given that Seoul are in 10th place and 11 points behind the Champions League places, winning the FA Cup is likely to be the capital club's best chance of success and qualification into next year's ACL.

 

What To Watch

Andre Luis has been tipped by fans and even his own teammates to be a top player in K League 1, should the Purples win promotion. Coming up against the likes of Osmar, Kim Nam-chun and Yun Young-sun will be a good test for the 23-year-old. After two games without a goal, Andre was back on the scoresheet on Sunday, firing in Daejeon's second of the night. The goal will have given him a little boost in confidence heading into Wednesday's tie and will fancy himself to make an impact. Seoul are going to find it difficult to deal with a player who has a lot of positional freedom and likes to arrive in the box from deep. Andre will be key for the Purples as he has been all season with eight goals in 10 league appearances, just one behind An Byong-jun of Suwon FC.

Prediction

Hwang Sun-hong will have his players fired up for Wednesday's match. He will not want to lose to Seoul, a club where he was deemed as a failure and departed so unceremoniously in April 2018. The Purples, then, will know exactly what is expected of them. A close contest with either team sneaking through is entirely possible following what is likely to be a fast-paced, end-to-end game. Daejeon will be favourites given Seoul's recent form and morale.

[READ: Column: Why FC Seoul Must Sign Ki Sung-yeung]