Jeonnam Dragons vs Gimcheon Sangmu Match Preview

Jeonnam Dragons welcome Gimcheon Sangmu to the south coast for round 7 of the 2021 K League 2 competition. Both sides progressed in the cup midweek versus K League 1 sides and spirits will be high in either camps, KLU's Joshua Higgins previews this 4th versus 7th match up. 

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Jeonnam: WDDLW

Gimcheon: LWLDW

The Dragons have started this season much the same as the previous one, with manager Jeon Kyung-jun utilizing his expertise of setting up a defence that is hard to break down. Jeonnam have only conceded four goals in total this season, but as it was last year, goals scored have also been hard to come by, with only five to their name, the second lowest in the division.

Gimcheon have had a rough welcome to life in the second division. Tipped as one of the strongest teams in the league by many in the winter, many are surprised at how poorly the army team have began this campaign, currently sitting in 7th place, with 50% of their games so far resulting in losses, including the 4-0 hammering by early front runners Seoul E-land in round 2. However, many point to the fact that the Sangmu players are still adapting to life in the army, and when they are more settled, we should see the full potential of their team.

[READ: Derby day as Gyeongnam FC and Busan IPark face off in Changwon]

Jeonnam Dragons

Jeonnam needed a 6-5 penalty shootout win to get past K League 1 team Suwon FC in the FA Cup, with last year regular starter Park Jun-hyuk the hero between the sticks. The Dragons needed to dig deep against a side that saw much more of the ball and had far more chances, this win should give a side that looked like it was lacking confidence a much needed boost for the tricky run of upcoming fixtures which sees the south Jeolla team playing seven times in just four weeks. Rotation will be key, with such a short turn around between games, so we may see different line ups each game as manager Jeon tries to figure out his best eleven while also give needed rest time. The Dragons face K3 team Busan Transportation in the next round of the FA Cup in May.

Gimcheon Sangmu

Gimcheon edged out K League 1 team Jeju United 1-0 in the FA Cup during the week, thanks to a 75th minute Lee Keun-ho goal, which will certainly lift a team who have struggled immensely with asserting themselves in K League 2. The army team have a plethora of talented individuals at their disposal and it won't be too long before Sangmu stalwart Kim Tae-wan gets his team playing well again. Gimcheon will play Seongnam FC in the next round of the FA Cup and will fancy their chances if they can build on their midweek win.

How will the game play out?

Despite being the home side, the Dragons may be cautious of Gimcheon starting to hit form, especially since they managed to not only beat last season's K League 2 runaway winners, but also kept a clean sheet against them. This might work in Jeonnam's favour if we see Gimcheon controlling the game, as the Dragons at times have looked more dangerous on the break than when trying to break down teams with possession. As with almost every match in K League 2 though, the difference between teams is minimal and anything can happen on the day. However I don't think this one will be high scoring, and a draw is the most likely outcome.