K-League: Can Seongnam Keep Good Run Going Against Gangwon?

Seongnam FC vs Gangwon FC

Seongnam slowly seem to be turning things around. The Magpies have picked up back-to-back good results in recent weeks, which includes their first win in quite a while.

They will look to keep the positive momentum going when they meet Gangwon FC, who suffered another setback after a close 1-0 loss to K-League leaders Ulsan last week.

A Seongnam win would see them overtake Gangwon in the table, although the K-League 2020 betting odds won’t be in their favour even though they are at home.

Talking Points

Seongnam slowly improving

Seongnam FC’s poor run of K-League 2020 results (five losses and two draws in their last seven games) finally came to an end when they beat struggling Suwon Bluewings 1-0 away from home. Chang-Yong Lee struck late in the 81st minute to hand the Magpies all three points.

Seongnam played well overall as they had seven shots on target (14 in total) and held the Bluewings to none.

That fine performance comes on the heels of Seongnam’s shock 2-2 draw against champions Jeonbuk. The Magpies went 2-0 up before half-time, but while they were unable to hold on for the win, a point away to the champions was still an impressive achievement.

Despite being the first side to score more than one goal against Jeonbuk’s excellent defence, Seongnam still have question marks in attack. They’ve scored the second-fewest goals in the league (nine) behind only bottom-club Incheon.

With Croatian striker Tomislav Kis failing to make an impact — he still has yet to make a start this season — Seongnam have not had a reliable goalscorer this season. Veteran striker Dong-Hyen Yang is the team’s leading scorer with three goals, but he’s scored just once over his last nine appearances.

Seongnam have curiously struggled to score inside their own building. They have just one goal in their first five games at Tancheon Stadium, where they’ve yet to win this season and have lost four games in a row.

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Premier League

Gangwon suffer setback

Gangwon FC have landed back in the losing column after going down 1-0 to league leaders Ulsan last week. That defeat comes shortly after their impressive 4-1 win in their match against Gwangju, which snapped their four-game losing skid.

Although, Kim Byung-soo should still be pleased with how well his side played against the title contenders, especially going forward. They had 55 per cent possession and created nine shots, seven of which were on target.

Gangwon’s attack has shown signs of improvement in the last few weeks. Prior to the Ulsan match, midfielder Jae-Wan Cho had scored three goals in his last two games. Forward Moo-Yeol Ko has also been in fine form this season with five goals, which leads the team.

Byung-soo must now focus on improving Gangwon’s leaky defence, which has already let in 20 goals this season, the second-most in the league behind FC Seoul. They’ve kept just one clean sheet all season, and that came in their shock 1-0 win over champions Jeonbuk back in late May.

Still, Gangwon should fancy their chances of slowing down a Seongnam side that is short on goals.

History

Gangwon and Seongnam met in K-League 1 last season for the first time since 2013. Gangwon got the better of the Magpies, winning two out of their three meetings.

The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in their first match this season. Moo-Yol Go put Gangwon in front on 18 minutes, but Soon-Hyung Kwon equalised for Seongnam in the second half.

Historically, this matchup between Gangwon and Seongnam has been a tight one. Seongnam have a slight edge in terms of league wins (7-5) and also won their most recent FA Cup meeting back in 2017.

Betting Tip

	Seongnam FC vs Gangwon FC	Over 2.25 @ 2.03
	July 25, 18:00 (GMT+8)

Seongnam may be in slightly better form of the two, but SBOBET odds still have Gangwon as slight 2.49 favourites, with the home side priced at 2.82 to win. A draw is 3.10.

This match can honestly go in so many ways. As good as Gangwon looked against Gwangju, Seongnam’s confidence will be high after their back-to-back positive results.

That’s why I’m instead deciding to go with the over. Seongnam are showing signs that they are finally fixing their scoring troubles, and Gangwon is a perfect opponent for them to pick up another goal or two.

Of course, Gangwon are quite capable of scoring a few goals themselves, as they showed when they smashed four against Gwangju. So expect a higher-scoring affair this time around between these two sides.