Daegu vs United City

The AFC Champions League return to action as Daegu and United City go head-to-head at the Milliy Stadium in the second round of Group I fixtures.

Daegu’s Champions League campaign started with a whimper rather than a bang, with the Koreans succumbing to a 3-2 away loss to Kawasaki Frontale on Matchday 1. Before that reverse, they had gone 11 competitive matches without a loss (W9, D2), with seven (77.78%) of those victories being accompanied by a clean sheet. Since suffering a dismal 4-1 defeat to domestic rivals Gwangju in early March, the hosts have racked up an intimidating nine-game unbeaten run on home turf (W6, D3). However, entertainment has been sparse in their recent home fixtures, with six of the previous seven featuring under 2.5 total goals, including the last five in a row. Daegu’s home action usually sparks into life after half-time, as witnessed by the fact that five of their last six home goals scored/conceded came in the second half.

On the other hand, United City failed to hold onto a half-time lead against Beijing Guoan in their Group I curtain-raiser, drawing 1-1 at home. As a result, the visitors have now gone from five successive triumphs to back-to-back games without winning (D1, L1), failing to keep a clean sheet in each of their last three outings in all competitions. But this will be United City’s first match on foreign soil in 2021, with Jason White’s side winning three of their four away fixtures in 2020 (L1). Each of those four games won/lost saw the victor record a shutout, with their last two road trips yielding winning margins of 6+ goals!