Suwon Samsung Bluewings vs Gangwon FC
Gangwon FC are the form team in the K-League at the moment. After ending defending champions Jeonbuk Motors’ perfect start to the season, they picked up another win over bottom club Incheon last week to climb up to third in the table.
They will now look to become just the second team after Jeonbuk to win three in a row this season as they take on the Suwon Samsung Bluewings this weekend.
The Bluewings have not had a great start to the campaign and will be desperate for their star striker to end his extended scoring drought.
Talking Points
Suwon’s top scorer still struggling
Suwon Bluewings had one of the toughest starts in the league as they faced the top two teams — defending champions Jeonbuk Motors and Ulsan Hyundai — in the first two weeks and lost both matches.
But what immediately followed was a stretch of three games against the bottom three teams in Incheon United, Busan I’Park, and Gwangju FC.
While they defeated Incheon, they could only draw with Busan. And last week, they suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Gwangju, who were previously stuck at the bottom of the table. Gwangju’s Brazilian striker Felipe struck in the 90th minute to break the Bluewings’ hearts.
Suwon controlled 60 per cent of possession and had the significant edge in shots — 13-7 in total shots, 8-4 in shots on target — but were unable to find the net.
Goalscoring is proving to be a significant issue for Suwon thus far this season. Much of this is due to star striker Adam Taggart’s lack of form.
The Aussie, who won the K-League Golden Boot last season with 20 goals, has been slow out of the gate. He has yet to make many K-League 2020 highlights this season; he remains goalless in the first five games and hasn’t even completed a full 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, new recruit Sulejman Krpic scored in his debut against Ulsan. But the two matches he’s started alongside Taggart haven’t been productive, and he only came on as a substitute in place of Taggart against Gwangju.
Suwon desperately need one of their two strikers to start scoring so they can jumpstart their season.
Gangwon going great guns
“Byung-soo ball” is rolling once again. After a somewhat uneven start to the season, Kim Byung-soo’s side is now picking up some steam following back-to-back wins.
They defied the K-League 2020 odds by ended defending champion Jeonbuk’s perfect start to the season and followed that up by claiming all three points against bottom side Incheon United last time out.
Incheon got out to a shock lead over Gangwon after 22 minutes. But the Kodiaks struck back immediately to equalise after just two minutes and eventually got the win through a late Ko Moo-yeol penalty.
That win moved them up to third in the table with three wins, a draw and a loss in their first five games.
Ko Moo-yeol should be full of confidence at the moment. The 29-year-old striker has now found the back of the net in three consecutive matches and is tied for second in the K-League scoring charts.
Meanwhile, fellow key offseason addition Kim Seung-dae has yet to hit top form for Gangwon despite scoring in his debut. But he should get a good share of opportunities to add to his tally against a Suwon defence that is likely short on confidence at the moment.
History
Suwon have had the upper hand over Gangwon in recent years. The Bluewings have won 11 of their 19 K-League meetings, with Gangwon getting only four wins and the two sides playing out four draws.
Suwon went undefeated in three meetings with Gangwon last season. They won twice away at Gangwon and drew 1-1 at home. In their last meeting in August, Adam Taggart fired home a hat-trick in a 3-1 win.
Gangwon’s last win at Suwon was back in 2017. That’s just one of two wins Gangwon have had over Suwon in nine meetings since returning to the top flight three years ago.
Betting Tip
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Suwon Samsung Bluewings vs Gangwon FC | Under 2.25 Goals @ 2.03 |
| June 13, 18:00(GMT+8) |
Despite their recent results, SBOBET odds still have Suwon priced as slight favourites — perhaps due to home advantage — at 2.48 with Gangwon at 2.83 to extend their winning run. Meanwhile, a draw is 3.10.
But the better play in this match is likely the over/under. Both sides have conceded just five goals thus far, and with Taggart’s struggles, Suwon have not scored too many goals.
Moreover, four of the last five meetings between the two sides have seen just two goals or fewer. That’s why I foresee another relatively low-scoring affair this weekend.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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