Seoul vs Ulsan Hyundai
K League 1 pacesetters Ulsan Hyundai head to the Seoul World Cup Stadium to take on playoff-battling Seoul in a mouth-watering encounter.
Seoul eked out a narrow 1-0 win away to Suwon Bluewings last time out to arrest a frustrating streak of three winless K League 1 matches (D1, L2). However, they can ill-afford to rest on their laurels, as they still trail the playoff zone by a point. Homecoming Seoul will hope to defy their indifferent home league record this term (W3, D2, L2) and return to winning ways after going winless in back-to-back home outings (D1, L1). Unfortunately, Ulsan’s visit suggests another lacklustre result could be on the cards, with Seoul failing to win any of their last six top-flight H2Hs on home turf (D3, L3).
In the meantime, a first-half meltdown saw Ulsan Hyundai concede three times before half-time in a heartbreaking 3-1 home defeat to fierce rivals Jeonbuk Motors last time out. After witnessing their five-match unbeaten league run come to a halt (W4, D1), travelling coach Hong Myung-bo is looking to rally his troops to avoid losing back-to-back league games for the first time this season. Indeed, the ‘Tigers’ top the K League 1 table after losing just 12.5% of their opening 16 league outings (W11, D3, L2). There’s plenty of reason for optimism, as they’ve won their last three top-flight fixtures on hostile turf by an aggregate score of 7-2.