Daegu vs Kawasaki Frontale

Milliy Stadium is the venue as Daegu and Kawasaki Frontale battle it out for a top place in the AFC Champions League Group I.

Since the Matchday 1 heartache against Kawasaki, the hosts have hit the ground running in Group I, picking up three successive triumphs to claim a place in the knock-out phase with two games to spare. Daegu’s imperious three-match winning streak saw them score a whopping 15 unanswered goals, notching up 2+ second-half goals on each occasion. Notably, delivering action from the onset, Lee Byung-keun’s men have opened the scoring in each of their four group stage fixtures, doing so by the 25th minute three times. Adding to their confidence, the Korean giants have racked up a resounding 11-game unbeaten home streak in all competitions since being hammered 4-1 by domestic opponents Gwangju in early March (W8, D3). Additionally, they have kept a clean sheet in eight of their last nine competitive home outings.

In the meantime, the visitors have been nothing short of outstanding in the Champions League so far, winning each of their opening four group stage contests by an aggregate score of 20-2. Yet, it’s worth noting that 15 of Kawasaki’s 20 Group I goals scored thus far came in their doubleheader against Beijing Guoan, with Toru Oniki’s men putting 7+ goals past the Chinese outfit in each of those two victories. The reigning J1 League titleholders have been a force to be reckoned with on the road since the calendar flipped to 2021, going unbeaten in their ten trips in all competitions this year (W8, D2). And when they win, it tends to be in a convincing manner. Each of their previous eight competitive away victories yielded a winning margin of 2+ goals, with the last five being accompanied by a clean sheet.