Bucheon make first ever trip to Gimcheon Sangmu

Two teams on level points meet in round six in the K League 2 this Saturday. Ninth placed visitors Bucheon FC 1995 need to recover quickly after falling three places due to defeat last Sunday. Meanwhile, seventh placed hosts Gimcheon Sangmu are searching for their first ever home league win at their new stadium. 

Recent Form

This will be Bucheon's first visit to Gumcheon Sangmu. The previous meeting they had against any Sangmu team was a 2-0 home defeat in the 2017 FA Cup against Sangju Sangmu, so this really is a battle between two completely different sides compared to that 2017 match. One similarity that these two teams share is the form they have coming into the match, as both teams have progressed in the FA Cup and registered one win, two draws, and two defeats in the league. Gimcheon are higher in the table courtesy of them scoring one goal more than Bucheon, cancelling out the fact that they have conceded one goal more than Bucheon. Both teams share the distinction of this season giving Seoul E-land the largest league wins in their history, as both clubs have lost to league leaders Seoul 4-0 already this season. 

Gimcheon suffered that defeat in their second game of he season, a week after drawing 1-1 to Ansan Greeners and they immediately recovered by defeating Daejeon Hana Citizen 2-1 away from home. However, they then fell to Busan IPark by the same scoreline in their first ever match at Gimcheon. Last weekend they earned a goalless draw to FC Anyang, the team that are currently sandwiched between Bucheon and Gimcheon. Bucheon suffered their 4-0 Seoul loss last weekend, a big setback as it appeared that the side had put their opening day 2-1 home defeat to Daejeon behind them by winning 1-0 away to Chungnam Asan, and following that up with two home draws - goalless with Anyang and 1-1 with Jeonnam Dragons. 

[LISTEN: KLU Pod | FA Cup Recap, National Team Struggles, and Valentinos Sielis Interview]

What to Watch

Gimcheon seriously need to get going in matches quicker. They have scored four goals in the league so far this season and not a single one of them has come in the first half. They are a club that has been disrupted by the move and their new intake of players but to underperform to such a large extent compared to last season is shocking. As Bucheon have yet to score more than once in a league match this season Gimcheon need to take the initiative, because the visitors defence is solid if they are not chasing the game like they had to against Seoul E-land last weekend. Seoul scored four unanswered goals in that match, but in games in which Bucheon have scored they have never conceded more than once after scoring. That means the only way to be sure of a win against Bucheon is to take the lead and force them to readjust their game plan.

Bucheon will likely just stick to their guns and play they the same as they always have this season. They have set up as a 3-4-3 in every match this season and results have not been terrible, but they have not yet changed their tactics in response to negative results. Last Sunday's defeat was by far their worst match of the season so far, so it will be interesting to see if the manager believes his tactic needs changing or if it needs perfecting.

Who to Watch

The biggest catalyst for a tactical change might be the need to fit in their foreign players, particularly Crislan. The Brazilian striker made his debut in the FA Cup against K5 team Gimhae Jaemics and both scored and assisted once. He then made his first appearance in the league last Sunday as a second half substitute (alongside Wataru making his club debut) and was one of the brighter sparks for the club. Bucheon were 3-0 down at halftime and Crislan gave them an attacking edge that almost saw them pull goals back a couple of times. He still looked slightly rusty as his last competitive games came in 2019, but he looked like an astute signing for a club that has so far had to rely on Park Chang-jun's previously undiscovered poacher's instincts. If Crislan does not perform well in the current 3-4-3 formation then it is possible the manager could try to build a new formation to best utilise him, as the 29 year old appears that he could be more than capable of grabbing a few goals in this league and giving Bucheon a greater attacking threat.