Preview: Ansan Greeners Vs Seoul E-Land

Seoul E-Land fell short in the last round of the 2020 K League 2 season. League leaders Suwon FC played out a 2-0 win, sinking Seoul to 6th. Seoul needs to pick themselves up as they continue their long stretch of five consecutive games on the road. This week, they face off against struggling outfit,  Ansan Greeners.

Seoul E-Land will travel down to Ansan Greeners in round 17 of the 2020 K League 2. Ansan are looking to get only their forth win of the season against Seoul this Sunday. The Leopards will look to get revenge against the Green Wolves for handing the Leopards their second loss of the year. Michael Redmond previews this one here. 

Last Time Out

Seoul made the trip down to Suwon in the prior round. Seoul faced off against a solid Suwon team, looking to stay top of the table. A big talking point of the first half, came towards the end of the first 45.Leandro went down injured as A misplacement of his feet saw his leg bend abnormally, and he was shortly taken off the pitch. Luckily for Seoul, Leandro came back on and played the remainder of the game.

An Byong-jun was once again the difference-maker in the game. Having scored against Seoul in their previous meeting. The North Korean struck in the 61st minute. A swung in ball from Brazilian Marlone saw Lee Sang-min lose An Byong-jun. He slotted the ball past Kim Hyung-geun, who was until then having an excellent game for Seoul. Seoul did have chances in the game, and some may say some wasted opportunities to equalize. Suwon were too strong and An Byong-jun caught Seoul's defence cold again in the dying minutes. A well placed shot in injury time from over 25 yards away sealed Suwon's victory.

Full Time: Suwon FC 2-0 Seoul E-Land

Ansan Greeners made the flight over to the Island on Sunday evening. They faced off against Jeju United, who are looking to pip Suown FC to top spot. It took the home side only 17 minutes to score the first goal of the game. Jeong Woo-jae cut the ball across the box and Kong Min-hyun was there to pass it into the net. There was only one goal in the first half of the game between the two sides.

The second half saw Jeju switch it up a gear. They doubled their lead in the 73rd minute. This time it was assister turning into goalscorer, as Jeong Woo-jae curled the ball from outside of the box into the goal. Jeju put the game to bed in the 79th minute.  It was almost an identical goal to the first. Jeong Woo-jae crossed the ball across the box, for Kong Min-hyun to tap the ball into the back of the net. Ansan got their consolation goal in the last 30 seconds of added time. A few shots on Jeju's Oh Seung-hoon saw the ball fall to Kim Ryun-do. His shot beat the keeper and got one goal for Ansan.

Full Time: Jeju United 3-1 Ansan Greeners 

Previous Meetings

The two sides met in round 4 of the 2020 K League 2 season. A midweek fixture in Jamsil, which saw Ansan run away with the win. It was also Seoul's second loss of the season. It also saw a double from Kim Ryun-do both in both halves of the game.

[READ: K League 2 Round 17 Preview]

Team News

The big news coming out of the Seoul E-Land camp from the last round was the omission of Sukuta-Pasu from the side. This may have been due to an injury as the German forward has played most games for Seoul this year. Chung Jung-yong once again went with A 3-5-2 formation. The game was closer than a 2-0 win may look on paper. Lee Sang-min failed to pick up An Byong-jun for a free-kick for the first goal. The second goal came when it was an all-out attack from Seoul, leaving them scarce in defence.

Seoul E-Land manager Chung Jung-yon has been lining his team out in a 3-5-2 formation in recent weeks of the 2020 K League 2 season.

The boss may use this formation for the third time against Ansan. The two wingers in Park Sung-woo and Ko Jae-hyun really helped in tracking back. Kim Dong-gwon made a welcomed return for Seoul back in defence. The Korean had a good game for Seoul and has a strong mentality against teams. 

The Adversary

It has been a disaster for Ansan this year in the K League 2. With nine losses, four draws, and only three wins. A complete shell of the team they were last season. Ansan just can not score goals. They have nine goals this year. In saying that, two of them did come against Seoul in their victory against the capital.

Ansan really picks up victories on the fly and win in the most random of times. Their victories this year have come against Seoul, Suwon, and Anyang. Ansan reminds a lot of Seoul E-Land fans on how their season panned out in the season prior. Ansan are running out of time if they are to take any positives away from the 2020 K League 2 season.

What To Watch

Seoul E-Land does like to push the ball forward in games. Leandro is a very, very fast player. Ko Jae-hyun also loves to chase down balls that would normally go out of play. If you mix this with Ansan's poor defensive line, then the Green Wolves could be in for a long evening. Kim Ryun-do has both been a bright spark in a dim season for Ansan. If he is given chances and some of Seoul's defense fall asleep for set-pieces again, then Ansan may get a smash and grab win.

Prediction

It will certainly not be the game of the round by any stretch of the imagination. Both teams are once again desperate for a win. Both teams for different reasons. Some may say that Seoul have an easier run now. They have FC Anyang and Chungnam Asan after Ansan Greeners. If Seoul can get six to nine points out of the three fixtures, then a promotion position may still be on the cards. In saying that, Ansan are overdue for another win and Seoul seem to be the team to give teams their long-awaited win this year.

The game could be closer than some may think. Seoul could really slip up. If they fail to win this one, they will only sink further down the table. As I said before, it certainly won't be the game of the round. However, it will be one of the more important games for Seoul this season.