Seoul vs Pohang Steelers

Seoul World Cup Stadium forms the backdrop for a top-table K League 1 showdown between second-placed Seoul and thrid-placed Pohang Steelers.

A stomach-wrenching 1-1 draw at Incheon United in midweek K League 1 action made it back-to-back league matches without a win for Seoul (D1, L1), throwing their playoff bid into doubt. However, the hosts have been nothing short of impressive on home turf this season, losing just once in nine league matches (W5, D2). Since that only loss in early March, they’ve gone unbeaten in six consecutive top-flight fixtures on home soil (W4, D2. Scoring has been Seoul’s strong suit, as evidenced by an intimidating average of 1.87 goals per home league game. They could be particularly dangerous in the latter stages, having found the net beyond the 75th minute in 44% of their home league outings (4/9).

On the other hand, goals on either side of halftime fired Pohang Steelers to a 2-1 home win over Jeju United in midweek K League 1 action, helping the team bounce back from a goal-glutted 4-2 loss at Gwangju last weekend. But playing on hostile turf has been Pohang’s Achilles heel of late, as they come into this encounter winless across their last five league travels (D3, L2), conceding multiple goals on three occasions. A lack of composure in the front third has seen Kim Gi-dong’s team average just 1.25 goals per top-flight trip. Still, they could be a menace in the second half, with 67% of their away K League 1 goals this season coming beyond halftime (6/9).