Pohang Steelers vs Johor Darul Ta’zim

Pohang Steel Yard is the venue, as Pohang Steelers and Johor Darul Ta’zim go head-to-head in the third round of the AFC Champions League Group G fixtures.

Following a comfortable 2-0 home triumph over Ratchaburi on Matchday 1, Pohang fell apart in the second round of the group stage fixtures, going down 3-0 to Nagoya Grampus on the road. Interestingly, after drawing four consecutive competitive matches, none of Pohang’s last six games in all competition have ended level (W4, L2), with four of them seeing the winner keep a clean sheet. The ‘Steelers’ will take the field in high spirits, having avoided defeat in their last five competitive home fixtures (W3, D2), notably keeping a clean sheet four times in the process. Kim Gi-dong’s men have found the net beyond the 80th-minute mark in back-to-back home outings. Interestingly, five of their last six home goals scored have come on or beyond the 80th minute.

On the other hand, Johor DT responded to a 1-0 home loss to Nagoya Grampus in their group stage opener with an identical away triumph against Ratchaburi on Matchday 2. Since being held to a 1-1 away draw to Kuala Lumpur City in late April, Johor haven’t drawn any of their subsequent four competitive matches (W3, L1), with each result (win/loss) in that sequence seeing the victor keep a clean sheet. Away from home, the ‘Southern Tigers’ have racked up an intimidating 13-game unbeaten streak in all competitions since succumbing to a 5-1 loss to Vissel Kobe in this exact tournament in February 2020. On top of that, they have recorded four shutouts across their last five competitive trips, with the solitary goal conceded in that spread of fixtures coming in the stoppage time of the first half.