Jeonbuk Motors vs Incheon United

Jeonju World Cup Stadium sets the stage for a high-stakes K Lague 1 showdown between Jeonbuk Motors and Incheon United.

Jeonbuk’s embarrassing start to the season hit a new low in the previous round as bitter rivals Ulsan Hyundai defeated them 1-0, inflicting an alarming eighth loss in 16 league matches on Park Won-jae’s underachievers (W3, D5). While searching for a new permanent manager, the Warriors remain focused on climbing up the ladder, with no side picking fewer points than Jeonbuk’s 14! Winless in their last three league outings (D1, L2), the record-time K League 1 champions return to the comforts of their home, where they’ve avoided defeat in three of their last four top-flight matches (W1, D2). Encouragingly for the home crowd, Jeonbuk netted precisely two goals in three of those four games.

On the other hand, Incheon’s three-game unbeaten league streak (W1, D2) came to an abrupt halt last time out as Suwon thumped them 3-1 after bagging two unanswered first-half goals. That result extended Incheon’s patchy league form on the road (W2, D4, L2) and stretched their scoring run to seven consecutive matches. But as the last five of them saw the Mariners score precisely once, Jo Sung-hwan’s backline will have to step up if the visitors are to end a three-game losing away league stretch against Jeonbuk. Incheon can draw confidence from registering a shutout on two of their last four K League 1 travels (W1, D2, L1).