Kim Daewon's Gangwon FC look to leave Daegu behind

Gangwon FC will host Daegu FC this Saturday afternoon in Gangneung, looking to break a chain of winless streaks against the Sky Blues. K League United's Daegu FC correspondent Muyeol Jung previews the clash.

Recent Form

Gangwon FC
Kim Byungsoo's side added a point to their tally after a 1-1 draw at Jeju in midweek and extend their unbeaten run to five with two wins and three draws after three straight defeats.

They conceded the goal to Joo Minkyu early in the second half, but the introduction of Ko Mooyeol turned things around for the Bears. The substitute dropped the ball behind the defensive line with a header and Kim Daewon on the run, composedly slotted the ball home and put the game level.

Daegu FC
Lee Byungguen's side are running unbeaten for their last three games, but in fact, it's not as satisfying as it may sound. Entering the international break with a great 2-1 win over Ulsan, they hoped to keep the momentum alive in winnable fixtures, but the recent two consecutive draws against Pohang and Seongnam are something they will deeply regret later.

Off the pitch, another swirl of controversy recently hit the club hard after the allegation was made against the club that they did not take appropriate actions when a youngster was sexually and physically harassed by a senior player in 2018. Both players are no longer with the club, but this allegation has certainly thrown the club into another catastrophe right after Jung Seungwon's issue had been settled down.

Team News

Gangwon manager Kim Byungsoo seems to have a healthy squad to make his selection from except their usual absentees; Rim Changwoo (unknown injury), Shin Changmoo (facial bone fracture), Ishida Masatoshi (rib fracture). However, there might be some extent of rotation due to fatigue.

The Bears have been set up in a 3-4-3 formation this season and the line-up has been fairly similar with very limited change. It is also interesting that the gaffer only uses one U22 player as a starter that allows him to make up to three substitutions rather than take the full advantage of the maximum five substitutions.

A biggest concern for the Sky Blues is that Cesinha will miss this clash with a hamstring injury. According to the latest news, his injury isn't bad, thankfully, but he will be assessed for the next game. In addition, left winger Ahn Yongoo is a doubt after he was taken off with what looks like a thigh injury.

Hwang Soonmin is ongoing with recovery training along with Yoon Jongtae, Tsubasa and Edgar who have recently returned from injury, but the left winger still remains doubtful. If he is not available, Jang Sungwon will likely be deployed in the left flank. Towering striker Edgar da Silva will contitue to start on the bench.

Injury list: Kim Jinhyuk (wrist), Park Gidong (back), Park Hanbin (suspected injury) and Sue Gyeongju (unspecified injury) remain unavailable.

What to Watch

Can the Bears break a horrendous winless record against Daegu?

Can Gangwon manger Kim Byungsoo finally smile after the final whistle? 

The Bears become extremely hopeless whenever they face the Sky Blues and it must be daunting for them to face the fact that they have never beaten Daegu in their last ten meetings with only two draws since the summer of 2017. These records were entirely made with current boss Kim Byungsoo at the helm and this is something he is keen to leave behind him.

Interestingly, Kim Daewon (pictured in headline image) has been a centre to this horrendous record for Gangwon. The former Daegu attacker put five past Kim Byungsoo's side out of 21 goals Daegu netted in ten meetings before he wore a Gangwon shirt this season. Although he was not prolific in Daegu, he always led the way to humiliate his current boss; Kim Daewon scored 11 goals for Daegu, but five of which came against Gangwon.

Now with Kim Daewon in a Gangwon shirt, how this game will turn out is going to be very interesting for both sides.

Can Edgar salvage Daegu?
The return of former captain Hong Jungwoon certainly has solidified Daegu's back line and contributed to two clean sheets accomplished in the last two games. Moreover, in goal, Choi Youngeun appears to have recovered his confidence after a difficult time with some stick going his way. Some superb saves he made kept the Sky Blues in the game; for example, Kwon Wankyu's fire from close range and Fejsal Mulić's one-on-one chance.

Edgar will feel more responsible without Cesinha, out with injury 

During the last two games, however, upfront still remains questionable with poor finishing. Of course, it should be noted that bad luck continues to linger with the citizen club, but finishing could have been better. In this situation, the Brazilian striker Edgar will be key for Daegu to end a goal drought, although he is not 100% fit to complete the full match. He showed a great sense of goal poacher instinct with shots on target when he was brought in last time out, but genuinely poor balls from the flanks gave him little chance in front of goal. If he is better serviced from the flank, there would be better chance for finding the back of net.