Jeonbuk, Seongnam to compete for K-League Classic

Jeonbuk, which is the lone lead in the K-League Classic, and Seongnam, ranking sixth as a citizens’ team, will have a showdown at Tancheon Stadium in Seongnam at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The match is the hottest event in the K-League this weekend. Jeonbuk, which is targeting its fifth consecutive win, and Seongnam, which has no losses in recent eight consecutive games (three wins and five draws), will thus stage a duel between the sword and the shield.

Jeonbuk is committed to maintaining its league lead by adding three points by mobilizing its big-name strikers, including the top scorer Eduardo (Edu) Oliveira (seven goals), Lee Dong-guk, Leonardo Pereira, and Enio Oliveira Junio. Jeonbuk, with 31 points, is leading second-ranked Suwon (20 points) by 11 points.

Jeonbuk has had 19 goals, the most among the 12 teams, in the 12 games it played this season, living up to its reputation as a team centered on ‘offense,’. As Lee Dong-guk, who failed to play due to thigh injury in the early days of this season, returned to the ground in earnest and opened a beachhead for offense, the team has scored seven goals en masse in recent four games. Jeonbuk is expected to stage aggressive offense by mobilizing its capacity that enabled it to advance to the quarterfinals by beating over Beijing Guoan (China) in the round of 16 teams at the AFC Champions League (ACL) on Wednesday.

Seongnam, which failed to advance to the quarterfinals at ACL after loss to Guangzhou Hengda on Wednesday, will concentrate on a race between mid-ranked teams in the K-League Classic. If Seongnam, which is ranking sixth with 15 points, defeats Jeonbuk, it can rise to fourth place depending on the results of other teams’ matches.

Seongnam is poised to beef up concentration in defense. Seongnam has lost the fewest goals (11 goals) only after Jeonbuk (that allowed eight goals) in the K-League Classic. Seongnam has played as many as five scoreless games. Seongnam Coach Kim Hak-beom said, “With the combination between Lee Dong-guk, who lacks speed compared with his solid scoring capacity, and Edu, I think our defense can easily defeat them.” While concentrating on defense, the team is expected to launch prompt counterattacks by mobilizing the combination between Jorginho, and Kim Doo-hyeon, the core of its offense.