K-League: Ulsan and Pohang Figure in East Coast Derby Part Two

K-League: Ulsan and Pohang Figure in East Coast Derby Part Two

Ulsan Hyundai vs Pohang Steelers

The 2020 K-League season is slowly approaching its climax as the lines have been drawn between championship contenders and pretenders.

Looking at how the K-League standings turned out after 15 matchdays, it is clear that the usual upper echelon teams are still occupying the top spots.

Last year’s second placers in Ulsan Hyundai and the defending champions in the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are going neck-and-neck in the top two, with the former leading only by a solitary point.

Few notches below them are the resurgent Sangju Sangmu team and the Pohang Steelers who have 28 and 25 points respectively.

For this weekend, we will feature the second edition of the East Coast Derby between Ulsan Hyundai and Pohang Steelers at the Munsu Football Stadium, and this match can pose big ramifications as far as the title race is concerned.

A win here for Ulsan Hyundai can stretch their lead over everyone in the Korean top-flight, while an away victory by Pohang Steelers can put them to as high as third place while giving the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors a golden opportunity to take control.

As we continue our coverage of the Korean top-flight tournament, allow SBOBET to give you a preview of what’s to come for this weekend fixture.

Talking Points

Ulsan Hyundai are unstoppable for a reason

The Horangi have been quite on a rampage. By being unbeaten in the last six K-League games, Ulsan Hyundai look as unstoppable as ever.

Their run has been fueled by their overwhelming attack since they lead the league in scoring so far with 34 goals.

Leading at the forefront is Junior Negrao as he has been the talisman for Ulsan Hyundai. The Brazilian striker has notched 18 goals already to lead the whole competition.

With the rate that he’s been going, it is widely expected that he’ll bring home the Golden Boot award towards season’s end. But as for the championship? His team will still have a long way to go.

Their recent match against the Suwon Bluewings was a downer for their standards. Ulsan were held to a goalless draw because the Bluewings’ defence made life harder for them.

Despite launching 18 shots in that game, only two of them were on target and it didn’t help when they were reduced to 10 men late in the game.

But other than that, the Horangi are in good shape to win in this match. To recall, Ulsan dominated Pohang in their reverse fixture earlier this season and they might do it again given their recent form.

Pohang Steelers seeking revenge

Pohang, on the other hand, will look to avenge their earlier loss against the top-seeded team in the K-League.

They were demoralised with a 4-0 loss as they failed to be on target, and it didn’t help that their backline was leaky at the time.

But since then, the Steelers bounced back quite a bit. They’ve gone undefeated in seven of their last eight matches and it is because of their attacking improvement.

Stanislav Iljutcenko suddenly became the league’s second-leading scorer with 10 goals under his belt while Song Min-Kyu has contributed as well with six goals.

However, they would need the help of others if they want to have a chance against the Horangi. Several key players such as Nam Joon-Jae, Shim Dong-Woon, and Aleksandar Palosevic should step up in order to give the Steelers the much-needed depth against the league leaders.

History

The rivalry between Ulsan Hyundai and Pohang Steelers is as real as it gets. Last term, the Steelers scored a huge victory against the Horangi in the final matchday of the season, which effectively dashed the latter’s title aspirations.

All in all, they’ve faced each other in 39 matches with Ulsan winning in 17 while Pohang winning in 12 along with 10 draws.

Prior to this 2020 term, Ulsan have had the slight edge in the derby head-to-heads as they’ve won six of their nine previous meetings.

Betting Tip

Ulsan Hyundai Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.04

For this upcoming East Coast Derby, Ulsan Hyundai are the favourites priced to win at 2.03, while a draw or a win for the Pohang Steelers are priced both at 3.40 in the 1×2 market, as per our K-League 2020 odds.

Considering that these two teams are capable of pouring in goals, perhaps you may fancy placing your bets on either Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.77 or Over 2.50 @ 1.96 too.

Pohang have been a thorn on Ulsan’s side especially in their last few encounters. However, it will be hard to overlook the latter’s superb form as of late.

But given how East Coast Derby matches go in recent years, this should be a cracker of a match filled with K-League 2020 highlights.

While I believe that Ulsan Hyundai will be the victors of this game, expect the Pohang Steelers to not go down without a fight.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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