Jeonbuk Motors vs Tampines Rovers

Lokomotiv Stadium is the venue as Jeonbuk Motors look to maintain an unbeaten start to their AFC Champions League campaign against out-of-sorts Tampines Rovers.

After beating Chiangrai United 2-1 in their Group H curtain-raiser, Jeonbuk squandered a two-goal lead against Gamba Osaka on Matchday 2 (2-2). However, the ‘Warriors’ remain firmly in control of their destiny as they take the field in high spirits after netting an average of 3.00 goals across their last three competitive matches. Indeed, Kim Sang-sik’s men have enjoyed a dramatic development, going from four consecutive defeats to four straight games without losing (W2, D2). At home, though, the abovementioned victory over Chiangrai represents Jeonbuk’s solitary win in five matches (D1, L3), a sequence that saw them fail to score before half-time on three occasions. Overwhelming favorites to claim all three points, Jeonbuk can draw confidence from finding the net in all but one of their 11 home matches this calendar year.

In the meantime, Tampines’ Champions League campaign have started with a whimper rather than a bang, with the Singapore outfit losing their opening two group stage games without scoring. Two of their three goals conceded across that pair of defeats to Gamba Osaka and Chiangrai came beyond the 85th minute. A run of three consecutive losses in the build-up to this encounter represents a massive turnaround from a streak of five straight matches without defeat beforehand (W3, D2). What’s more, before drawing a blank in their last two competitive outings, the ‘Stags’ had netted 2+ goals in six competitive fixtures in a row, averaging 3.00 goals per game. Topically, Tampines had troubled the scoreboard in 13 straight competitive trips before being shut out by Chiangrai in their most recent away match.