Will Incheon United, the “survival king” who is on the verge of relegation, be able to start the remaining competition against “Jung Hyo Ball” Gwangju FC.
Incheon will play the 35th round against Gwangju in the final round of the “Hana Bank K League 1 2024” at 4:30 p.m. on the 27th at Incheon Football Stadium.
Incheon faces a crisis this season. Incheon aimed to advance to Final A for three consecutive years before the start of the season, but suffered poor performance and plunged to Final B in three years. As the team currently stands at the bottom with 32 points, the team is highly likely to be demoted.
Incheon needs “residual DNA” to avoid relegation. Except for the past two seasons, Incheon has been in a tough race to stay in almost every season. It has emerged as the survival king of the K League 1 by escaping from the crisis.
In the 2019 and 2020 seasons, they succeeded in staying in the K League 1 by one end. In the 2019 season, Incheon finished 10th with a one-point lead over Gyeongnam FC, which was 11th, and in the 2020 season, Incheon finished 11th with a two-point lead over Busan I’Park, which was the lowest.
This season is in a more difficult situation. Incheon has recorded one draw and four losses in the last five league games. The team is five points behind 11th-ranked Jeonbuk Hyundai, and six points behind 10th-ranked Daejeon Hana Citizen. The team intends to renew its bid to remain in the race against Gwangju.
Incheon will face a tough opponent in this round. It is Gwangju led by head coach Lee Jung-hyo. Gwangju failed to sustain a sensation last season and fell to the Final B, but recently won three consecutive games in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Although the team has displayed inconsistent performances with two wins, one draw and three losses in the recent six games in the league, it has recorded one win and one draw in October. It has three wins and one draw when including the ACLE games. Gwangju led by coach Lee is trying to continue its momentum with three consecutive ACLE wins by winning the match against Incheon.
In order for Incheon to win, it must reduce the number of lost goals at the last minute of the game. In all of the recent three consecutive seasons, Incheon has had the finishing goal after 80 minutes. It must maintain concentration at the end of the game. Mugosa, the second scorer, is also important. Mugosa has had no goals for the last five consecutive games. 메이저놀이터
It is also a good strategy to aim for scoring in set pieces. Gwangju has recorded eight consecutive goals in recent league games. In particular, it is weak in defense of set pieces. Gwangju allowed Edgar to score an equalizer on a corner kick in the last match against Daegu FC, and also conceded a header goal on a corner kick in the ACLE match against Johor. In Incheon, Mugosa, who has good header ability, is holding out.