Pohang Steelers vs Ulsan Hyundai
Without a doubt, the standout fixture in the fifth round of the K-League is Pohang Steelers taking on Ulsan Hyundai in the first Donghaean or East Coast Derby of the 2020 season.
Matches between these two fierce rivals are always big, and this one promises to be no different. This will be the two clubs’ first meeting since Pohang crushed Ulsan’s title hopes on the final day of last season.
The Tigers will no doubt be hungry for revenge, but the Steelers have made a strong start to the season and are eager to end their rivals’ unbeaten run.
Talking Points
Pohang’s prolific attack
Pohang produced one of the more dominant performances in the young K-League season as they thrashed Incheon United 4-1 away from home.
Stanislav Iljutcenko continued his strong start to the season as he bagged his third goal in four matches after just seven minutes. Aleksandar Palocevic also starred with two assists.
Those two foreigners, who arrived in the summer of 2019, came on strong in the second half of last season and sparked the Steelers’ strong run to end the campaign.
And they’ve picked up where they left off this season as they’ve played a major part in Pohang scoring eight goals in their first four matches, which is second in the league.
Pohang are hardly a two-man show, though. With the likes of Manuel Palacios, Lee Gwang-hyeok, Son Min-kyu and Lee Seung-mo supporting the two from midfield, the Steelers are stocked with attacking firepower.
However, the Steelers haven’t been nearly as strong in defence. They just lost both of their starting full-backs, Lee Sang-min and Kim Yong-hwan, to Sangju Sangmu due to military service.
Meanwhile, they have looked particularly vulnerable on set pieces. They gave up two goals from corners as they allowed FC Seoul to come from behind and win in their third match of the season.
Ulsan unable to keep hot start going
Ulsan had the most impressive in the entire league after high-scoring wins over Sangju Sangmu and Suwon Bluewings.
However, they have since suffered back-to-back setbacks as they drew with two of the bottom three clubs — Busan I’Park and most recently Gwangju FC — despite being significant favourites to win according to the K-League 2020 odds.
Ulsan dominated both matches as they claimed over 60 per cent possession and had a significant edge in terms of shots on target. However, they needed to come from behind in both matches as they were unable to convert more of their chances.
This is despite having the league’s top scorer in Junior Negrao. The Brazilian has already made several K-League 2020 highlights, scoring five goals in his first four games, although the one he scored against Busan was a penalty. He was also subbed off 15 minutes from time against Gwangju.
Ulsan manager Kim Do-hoon made some notable tweaks to his team against both Busan and Gwangju, and they did not pay off. However, it’s unlikely he fields nothing less than his strongest available side in the derby against Pohang.
History
Ulsan may have finished second last season, but Pohang proved to be a major thorn in their side; three of Ulsan’s five losses last year were at the hands of their fierce rivals.
Pohang twice came from behind at home to beat Ulsan. In their second home game, they struck twice in the last three minutes to score a 2-1 win.
And in their fourth meeting, they claimed a famous 4-1 victory at Ulsan in the final day of the season, which denied Ulsan their first title since 2005.
Prior to last season, though, Ulsan had had the slight upper hand in the derby, winning six of the previous nine meetings (two losses, one draw).
Betting Tip
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Pohang Steelers vs Ulsan Hyundai | Over 2.50 Goals @ 1.97 |
| June 6, 18:00 (GMT+8) |
Unsurprisingly, the SBOBET odds for this derby between two of the top teams in the league are quite tight. However, Pohang are still considered the underdogs at 3.05 despite being at home, while Ulsan are favoured at 2.20 to pick up an away win. A derby draw is priced at 3.35.
Even with Pohang’s success last season and Ulsan’s recent struggles, this derby is still too close to call. Both sides are stocked with attacking talent and can very easily claim all three points.
That’s why the over-under might be the safer bet. These are the two highest-scoring teams in the league by a comfortable margin, after all, so there’s bound to be a few goals flying in.
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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