Busan I’Park and Gyeongnam FC, which are on the rise, meet in the first ‘Nakdong River Derby’ of the season.
□ Match of Round – Season’s first Nakdong River Derby ‘Busan vs Gyeongnam’
The season’s first ‘Nakdong River Derby’ between Busan and Gyeongnam, which are running undefeated side by side, will be held in the 7th round. Busan had no wins in the first 5 matches last year with 2 draws and 3 losses. On the contrary, in the first 5 matches of the year, there were no losses with 3 wins and 2 draws. It is a 180-degree change of director Park Jin-seop’s먹튀검증 command. Busan’s team’s expected score is 5.66, 11th out of 13 K-League 2 teams, which is at the bottom, but the actual score against expected score is 1.59, which ranks first in K-League 2. This means that he scored 1.59 times more goals than expected. The opposing team, Gyeongnam, is also off to a good start with 3 wins and 2 draws. Gyeongnam’s strength is the perfect balance of offense and defense, ranking second in the most goals (10 goals) and second in the least goals (2 goals). As for the total opponent record of both teams, Gyeongnam is ahead with 23 wins, 8 draws and 15 losses, but the last 10 matches have been equal with 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses. You can check who can laugh at the first Nakdong River Derby between Busan and Gyeongnam, which will meet at the top, at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium from 6:30 pm on the 15th (Sat).
□ Team of Round – ‘Ansan’ trying to escape the 3-game draw against Gimpo
Ansan has failed to win with 1 draw and 2 losses in 3 games since the 1-0 victory over Chungnam-Asan in the 2nd round. Although they lost 1-4 against Seoul E-Land in the 6th round, it was encouraging that foreign striker Thiago, who played an active role with 5 goals and 1 assist last year, scored a goal for the season. Ansan’s 7th round opponent, who needs a change of atmosphere, is Gimpo. Ansan was strong with 2 wins and 2 draws in four meetings with Gimpo last season, and in particular, in the recent two head-to-head matches, they scored 3-1 and 3-0, respectively, with multiple points and 3 points. Gimpo had good momentum at the beginning of the season with 2 wins and 3 draws in the league, and produced surprises such as defeating K League 1 Seoul in the 3rd round of the FA Cup held during the week. If Ansan catches Gimpo, it seems that it will not only reverse the atmosphere but also prepare a foothold for escaping from the lower ranks. The match between the two teams will be held on the 16th (Sun) at 4:00 pm at Ansan-Wa Stadium to see if Ansan, which was strong against Gimpo last season, can continue this season.
□ Player of the Round – ‘Lee Jong-ho (Seongnam)’ is challenging for 3 goals in a row.
Lee Jong-ho appeared in 14 games for Seongnam last season and provided only 2 assists, so he had no scoring goals. Lee Jong-ho, who was hungry for goals, scored goals early in the last two games in a row. In the 5th round against Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, he reported his first goal of the season in the 2nd minute of the game, and in the 6th round against Jeonnam, he scored an equalizer to save the team from defeat. Both goals were header goals. Seongnam calls Cheonan home in the 7th round. Cheonan is the team with the most goals, with 16 goals in 6 matches. Recently, Lee Jong-ho is trying to score in three consecutive games with his keen sense of goal. The last time Lee Jong-ho succeeded in scoring three times in a row was from round 32 to round 34 of the 2021 season, when he belonged to Jeonnam. Will Lee Jong-ho be able to score three goals in a row? The match between Seongnam and Cheonan will be held on the 16th (Sun) at 1:30 pm at Tancheon Sports Complex.
※ Rest team: Anyang ※ Data in the preview is based on K-League