After suffering their first two consecutive defeats under Hong Myung-bo, professional football’s K League 1 leaders Ulsan Hyundai will look to turn things around against Jeju United.
Ulsan hosts Jeju in the 24th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2023 on 21 November at 7.30pm at Ulsan Munsu Stadium.
This season, Ulsan has maintained its ‘first place’ status with 53 points (17 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses).
They are a whopping 12 points clear of second-placed Pohang Steelers (41). 온라인카지노
However, their recent form hasn’t been great. On the 12th, they lost 1-2 to Incheon United, and on the 15th, they fell 1-3 to bottom-placed Suwon Samsung.
[Ulsan=News] Bae Byeong-soo reporter = Players from both teams battle for the ball during the 2023 Hana OneQ FA Cup quarter-final match between Ulsan Hyundai and Jeju FC at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on 28 June. 28 June 2023. bbs@newsis.com
It has been two years and nine months since Ulsan suffered back-to-back league defeats in October 2020.
Notably, it was the first time the club had lost back-to-back league games since Hong Myung-bo took over as head coach in 2021.
The form of the team also raises concerns. They have conceded a whopping five goals in just two games. This is disappointing considering that the team had previously conceded 21 goals in 21 games, an average of one goal per game.
There are also power leaks. Defensive midfielder Park Yong-woo recently moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) League.
[Jeju United hasn’t won in eight games. (Photo courtesy of the Korean Football Association)
Ulsan will play the rest of the season without a replacement for Park Yong-woo.
Ulsan can still retain the top spot if they lose to Jeju, but they will need to end their three-game winless streak to do so. A prolonged winless streak will erode the meaning of the points they have accumulated.
Jeju are the same team that knocked Ulsan out of the FA Cup quarter-finals last month.
However, in the two meetings this season, Ulsan won 3-1 and 5-1.
[SEOUL, South Korea] Pohang Wandelsson in the K League One. (Photo courtesy of the Korean Football Association)
Eighth-placed Jeju (30 points) is also in a hurry. They have gone eight games without a win (three draws and five losses), starting with a 2-2 draw against Gangwon FC on 3 March.
They had hoped to make a leap to the top of the table after a poor start to the season, but have slipped back to the bottom.
In a bid to turn things around, Jeju recently sold Ahn Hyun-beom to Jeonbuk and brought in Kim Gun-woong and Lim Chang-woo to bolster their squad.
Second-placed Pohang, who are chasing Ulsan, host fourth-placed Jeonbuk Hyundai on the same day.
[SEOUL, South Korea] K League 1 side Jeonbuk sign Park Jae-yong from Anyang. (Photo courtesy of the Korean Football Association)
If Pohang beats Jeonbuk and Ulsan loses, the gap between the two teams will narrow to single digits, nine points.
Pohang, who won their third game in three days with a 4-2 victory over Jeju in the previous round, will look to build on their momentum and make it two wins in a row.
The return of veterans Kim Seung-dae, Go Young-joon, and Wandelsson is encouraging.
Jeonbuk, who are unbeaten in their last four league games (3 wins, 1 draw), will be determined to hold off Pohang and keep their lead at the top.
To fill the void left by national goalkeeper Cho Kyu-sung’s departure to Danish professional football side Midtjylland, the club bolstered its frontline by bringing in Asian Games striker Park Jae-yong from K League 2 side FC Anyang.
