Jeonbuk v Pohang - South Korea K League 1 Betting Prediction

Jeonbuk v Pohang - South Korea K League 1 Betting Prediction

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors come into this match after a 0:1 defeat against Gangwon two weeks ago. Taking a closer look at the mentioned match, statistics point towards a close match, which might sound like Jeonbuk played well, however, the truth is far from it. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were considered a heavy favourite against Gangwon, who bear in mind haven't scored a single goal up until the fixture against Jeonbuk. The fact that Jeonbuk failed to put up better numbers is disappointing enough, however, them losing the match makes their performance that much worse. Only 4 days prior to the clash against Gangwon, Jeonbuk also lost to Buriram in AFC, who were as well considered a huge underdog, but performed admirably well. Despite having only 37% ball possession, Buriram managed to produce 12 goal attempts and 7 shots on goal. Jeonbuk on the other side had 63% ball possession, 13 goal attempts and only 1 shot on goal. With those numbers, it should not come off as a surprise that the home side won (1:0).

On the other side, we have got Pohang Steelers, who did not start the season well. After two rounds of K1 league, Pohang were 0-0-2 and with a -3 goal difference. But they finally found their rhythm in the most recent match and won against 2018 runners-up Gyeongnam with an impressive result of 4:1. Looking at how the match was played, Pohang scored an early goal in the 9th minute due to a terrible mistake from Gyeongnam goalkeeper. After that we saw Gyeongnam trying to catch up to the home side, however, they failed to produce a single shot on goal in the first half. The second half was by far more entertaining to watch. At least for the home side, who found their way to the net 3 more times, while the away side failed to produce anything threatening, except the goal in 84th minute, which did not change the course of the game. All in all, it was a great show from Pohang who deservingly won against last season's runners up. While it would be hard to deny the early mistake from Gyeongnam goalkeeper contributed to the win, Pohang were the better side throughout the whole match.

Jeonbuk Hyundai will be without Kim Jin-su who received two yellow cards as well as Ibini, Adriano and Lee Yong who are still recovering from an injury. Pohang Steelers have no injuries or new suspensions so we can expect a similar team that the one we saw against Gyeongnam.

Jeonbuk Hyundai have one of the best teams in the league on the paper, however, their recent performances might not reflect that. We must keep in mind, they have recently changed the coach, which in most cases means there is a transition period the team needs to go through before they start playing up to par. This just might be the case with Jeonbuk who were just terrible in their last 2 fixtures. Tonight they will get to face Pohang Steelers who were impressive in their last fixture when they trashed Gyeongnam (4:1). If Pohang can show anything similar as they did against Gyeongnam tonight, they have an exceptional chance to win this one as well. All in all the recent form of the teams suggests Pohang have a good chance to win this one, which is why we will back them up to upset Jeonbuk who are still trying to find their rhythm.

Prediction: Pohang to win (1x2 Market)
Odds: 6.45
Stake: 1/10
Bookmaker: Pinnacle (no bet under 5.50)