Ulsan Hyundai vs Viettel

Ulsan Hyundai and Viettel are set to trade tackles at the Thammasat Stadium in the penultimate round of the AFC Champions League Group F fixtures.

Ulsan head into proceedings as the only team in Group F to win all four matches as they’ve already qualified for the knock-outs with two games to spare. Since beating Viettel 1-0 on the road in their Champions League opener, the Korean heavyweights have scored 2+ goals in their subsequent three group stage matches, netting the opening goal within 30 minutes of play on each occasion. Even though the outcome of this encounter won’t affect Ulsan’s position in the section, the hosts remain confident of adding another win to the tally, having gone unbeaten in their last 19 competitive home fixtures since succumbing to a narrow 1-0 loss to domestic rivals Jeonbuk in October 2020 (W13, D6). Moreover, the ‘Tigers’ have scored over 1.5 goals in four consecutive home outings ahead of the kick-off.

On the other hand, Viettel’s hopes of making it out of the group stage have derailed on the back of two successive losses during which they scored once and conceded five times. Indeed, the visitors need to pick up all three points here and hope Pathum United will lose to Kaya to preserve their faint hopes of finishing second heading into the group phase finale. That could be easier said than done, given that they have only managed to beat the section whipping boys Kaya, losing the other three Group F engagements by an aggregate score of 6-1. Curiously, though, the ‘Red Tornado’ had been on an impressive 11-match undefeated run away from home across all competitions (W9, D2) before being beaten 2-0 by Pathum United last time out.