Busan I.Park vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Reigning K-League champions Jeonbuk Motors began their quest for a fourth consecutive title with an unconvincing win over Suwon Bluewings last week.
The Warriors will be hoping for a much more impressive performance when they pay a visit to newly-promoted Busan I’Park.
Busan were handily beaten by Pohang Steelers in their season opener last weekend, but despite the K-League 2020 betting odds being stacked against them, the Royals will be eager to give the defending champions all they can handle.
Talking Points
Busan I’Park in for a battle
Busan I’Park began their first K-League 1 campaign since 2015 in defeat as they fell 2-0 to Pohang Steelers.
Busan started brightly enough, but Pohang’s superior quality shone through as the game wore on. They ended up with just one shot on target despite 13 total shots.
Striker Gustavo Vintecinco, the team’s big offseason signing after scoring nine goals in K-League 2 last season, had a disappointing match as he failed to produce a single shot.
Meanwhile, Lee Dong-jun, the reigning K-League 2 MVP after scoring 13 goals with seven assists last season, also had a quiet game.
Hopefully, though, striker Lee Jeong-hyeop could be set to return after being unfit for the opener. Lee scored 13 goals in K-League 2 last season, which was tied for the team lead along with Lee Dong-jun and Brazilian midfielder Romulo.
Busan made a name for themselves with their positive, attack-minded style of play last season, and they had the quality to make that style work.
Their opening match against Pohang showed that they intend to continue playing that entertaining style this season. However, it remains to be seen if they have enough quality to take down the top sides in the division.
Jeonbuk eager to bounce back after underwhelming opener
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors failed to get into full gear against Suwon Bluewings in their season opener. But it’s the mark of champions to still get good results even when they’re not at their best, and that’s what Jeonbuk did.
After Suwon went down to 10 men on 77 minutes, 41-year-old Lee Dong-Gook made one of the top K-League 2020 highlights of the opening round with a dramatic winner four minutes from time to hand the champions all three points.
Some sluggishness from the Warriors is to be expected after they underwent some significant changes in the offseason. Ricardo Lopes, the team’s top scorer last season with 11 goals, moved on to China, while Moon Seon-min, who led the league with 10 assists, joined Sangju Sangmu.
They did score one of the biggest transfers in the offseason by signing reigning MVP Kim Bo-kyung from Ulsan Hyundai. The 30-year-old midfielder had a brilliant campaign, scoring 13 goals with nine assists.
Thanks to him, Ulsan Hyundai very nearly snapped Jeonbuk’s championship streak, but they fell short on the last game of the season. Kim was also part of the K-League All-Star team that faced Juventus last year.
Kim, who previously played in the J-League and the Premier League, did not impress on his first match back with Jeonbuk and could need time to adjust.
Their other key signing, Murillo, did show more promise, though. The 25-year-old Brazilian winger should get a lot of space playing against a Busan side that will not be afraid to push men forward.
History
Busan I’Park and Jeonbuk Motors have not met since 2015, which was when Busan were relegated from K-League 1.
The Warriors won all three meetings against Busan that year, which continued their dominance over the Royals.
Jeonbuk have won eight of the last 12 league meetings between the two sides, with three draws and one defeat. Busan’s last win against Jeonbuk came back in 2013 when they won 4-1 at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium. Current striker Lee Jeong-hyeop played in that match and bagged a brace.
Betting Tip
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Busan I.Park vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1X2 @ 1.67 |
| May 16, 18:00 GMT+8 |
Unsurprisingly, SBOBET odds have Jeonbuk favoured by a significant margin. The champions are priced at 1.67 to make it two wins out of two, while Busan are 4.40 to pull off the biggest upset of the young K-League season.
But as poor as Jeonbuk looked last week, I fully expect them to bounce back and put on a more convincing performance against Busan.
Busan’s defending in their first game against Pohang was quite poor, which the champions can and likely will capitalise upon en route to a more comfortable win.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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