Bucheon FC 1995 look for seventh straight opening match victory against Daejeon Hana Citizen
Since joining K League 2 for the 2013 season, Bucheon have only failed to win their opening fixture once, losing in 2014. Looking to end that winning streak is Daejeon Hana Citizen, a team that reached the playoffs last year, but one that also lost to strugglers Bucheon twice in 2020. Will the result go the way of history or squad strength?
Recent Form
Last season was incredibly poor for Bucheon, with their good opening few results completely eclipsed by their record breaking poor form across the summer. In the last five matches of the season the club slightly improved their results, registering a total a total of four points, including their first win in two months (a 1-0 away victory over Daejeon, the goal courtesy of Choe Byeong-chan). They could easily have secured more points the following week but they surrendered a 3-1 lead over Gyeongnam, eventually succumbing to a 4-3 defeat thanks to three goals after the 86th minute. In pre-season they have played K League 1 club Gangwon FC twice, losing 2-0 and then winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Kim Kang-san and Ahn Jae-joon. There has been a lot of turnover at Bucheon, and it is still unclear what style of play they will utilise under new manager Lee Young-min.
Similarly to Bucheon, Daejeon started 2020 well before drifting into more inconsistent form. However they managed to rally just enough towards the end of the season to secure a place in the playoffs on goals scored. In their final five league games Daejeon won twice and lost three times, with the most important victory of the season coming in the away 2-1 triumph at promotion rivals Jeonnam Dragons. In the playoff match against third place Gyeongnam, Daejeon were knocked thanks to the peculiar system of the higher ranked team progressing if the result is a draw, which is what occurred due to the result ending 1-1. In pre-season Daejeon have lost to newly promoted Suwon FC 1-0 and drew with them 0-0, and beaten K3 League club Gyeongju KHNP 3-2, with a goal from Won Ki-jong and a brace from Park In-hyeok. Daejeon are a wealthy club by K League 2 standards, but they have yet to translate that into consistent results. Will 2021 be their year?
What to Watch
With a whole new squad and new manager the main thing to watch for Bucheon is quite simply how will they play? Last season the most popular formations used were 3-5-2, 3-4-3, and 4-5-1, and as they have brought in new players across the pitch then any formation is possible. The main positional area that seems to have been under invested in is up front, with only three truly attacking players brought in. This is risky, considering that getting goals was Bucheon's main problem last year, so the manager must have made the conclusion that the club's root cause if the problem was the supply for attackers, rather than attackers themselves, hence why a lot more midfielders have been signed. Last season Bucheon did not rotate their squad a lot at all throughout the year, so this match can be important in understanding who are going to be the club's key players for the upcoming campaign.
For Daejeon, it will be seeing if they can be more ruthless and make fewer mistskes when coming up against so-called weaker sides such as Bucheon. Daejeon also have a new manager in the form of Lee Min-sung, who is performing in his first club role, and have lost their main attacking threat of Andre Luis. However, this loss can actual make things a lot easier for the squad, as Bruno Baio can now be the focal point of attack and too many attacking players do not need to be squeezed into the starting lineup. Bringing in K League 1 players Kim Min-duk and Lee Jin-hyun from Ulsan Hyundai and Daegu respectively should help give Daejeon a mental edge, while Won Ki-jong from Seoul E-land will give the club and extra option in attack should they need to grab goals late on. The loss of Connor Chapman is disappointing, but overall this squad has become more well rounded. Can they avoid another 1-0 loss to Bucheon and go one step further in the promotion race?
Who to Watch
If he makes his debut for Bucheon on Sunday, then Wataru Murofushi will become the first Japanese person to play for Bucheon in the club's history. He is currently the only foreign player at the club and has been brought in to give some more direction to Bucheon's attacking play. Last season Bucheon struggled for goals, though they were able to dominate possession in many matches that they played. The team just did not know what to do with the ball, which is the reason for the transfer of Wataru.
The 25 year old plays predominantly as a central midfielder and has been brought in from Canadian club York United for his passing abilities. While lacking in strength and a physical presence, Wataru's best attributes lie in him being able to control the pace of the play and find attacking players with his accurate passes and through balls. If he is able to fit well into the squad then Bucheon's attacks will likely become a lot more effective and a lot less aimless. With extra creative support Bucheon's strikers could score a lot more goals compared to last year, when they had one of the worst goal scoring rates in the league.
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