Jeonbuk Motors vs Seongnam

K League 1 runners-up Jeonbuk Motors welcome rock-bottom strugglers Seongnam to the Jeonju World Cup Stadium in a seemingly straightforward task for the hosts.

Jeonbuk Motors squandered a 2-0 halftime lead in a heartbreaking 2-2 home draw with Incheon United last time out, as they take the field trailing table-topping Ulsan Hyundai by five points. However, the ‘Warriors’ will turn on a confident mood after going unbeaten in their last six top-flight outings (W4, D2), netting 2+ goals in 67% of them. Yet, there is no room for complacency, as they’ve drawn both previous home league fixtures, courtesy of the goals conceded beyond the hour mark. Though you’d have to go back to 2008 to find Jeonbuk’s last home league loss to Seongnam, they’ve only won one of their three most recent such match-ups (D2).

As for Seongnam, last week’s 3-2 defeat away to Jeju United made it three K League 1 reverses on the trot, leaving them a whopping 16 points below the playoff zone. Coming into this round, the visitors have won none of their last seven top-flight fixtures (D3, L4), bagging an indifferent average of 0.71 goals per match in that span. Playing on the road has not been Seongnam’s strong suit by any stretch of the imagination. Since a narrow 1-0 triumph at Seoul in mid-May, they’ve gone winless in four successive away league matches (D2, L2), netting under 1.5 goals in three.