Sangju Sangmu vs Gwangju Betting Pick | Korean K-League

Korean K-League

2020-05-23 - Sangju Sangmu vs Gwangju

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Sangju Sangmu v Gwangju
Football: South Korea: K League
Saturday 23rd May 2020 - Kick Off 7:30pm
British Time: 11:30am

Preview

In three seasons in a row Sangju Sangmu have finished in the bottom half of the K League, but 2019 was at least a more positive season than the previous two. Last season Sangju Sangmu finished 7th in the Division, but in 2017 they needed to win a Relegation Play Off to avoid dropping into K League 2 and in 2018 they avoided the Relegation Play Off by finishing 10th thanks to a superior goal difference over Seoul.

There is some question about the club from a motivation stand point as it has already been confirmed that the military club will be relegated from the top flight at the end of this season. Huge changes in the personnel have been made with players coming and completing their two year service before leaving and it couples together to make you wonder if they can overachieve even in a campaign where there is nothing really on the line for them.

Last season they reached the Semi Final of the Cup and questions about motivation after the week one crushing defeat to Ulsan have been replaced following the success over Gangwon this past weekend. It certainly gives Sangju Sangmu something to build upon in the weeks ahead as they play a second home game in succession.

Going back to last season, Sangju Sangmu have won 6 of their last 9 games in the K League and that momentum does give the new look squad some belief. They have also proven they can be a very difficult team to face in their own Stadium and the side have won 4 of their last 5 League games here while scoring at least twice in each of those wins.

They will be hosting Gwangju who have spent the last two seasons in the K League 2 before earning their spot back in the top flight as Champions. It has been something of a rude awakening for Gwangju who have lost both games played without scoring a goal as they are struggling to find a system which gives them the best balance to compete at a higher level than last season.

It has not been as if the fixture list had thrown up some top opponents to open the season either and that does make me lose some faith in Gwangju in their step up to this level. Last weekend they had just a single shot on target in losing 1-0 at Seoul and Gwangju have now lost 4 in a row in all competitions going back to the conclusion of last season.

Gwangju have lost 4 of their last 6 away games and they had conceded at least twice in each defeat before the 1-0 defeat to Seoul.

Sangju Sangmu have won their last 2 home games against Gwangju although they are meeting for the first time since 2017.

Prediction

The change in formation used by Gwangju last weekend made them a little tougher to break down in the defeat to Seoul compared with the loss against Seongnam, but it also meant they offered less of an attacking threat.

Finding the balance is the challenge for the K League 2 Champions and that might leave them vulnerable to Sangju Sangmu despite the fact this squad already know their fate at the end of this season.

Even then the side are playing with togetherness and Sangju Sangmu have put together a strong set of results at home where they have been scoring plenty of goals in their most recent games here. One goal may be enough for the full three points in this one to back up the win over Gangwon last week and I will back the home team on the Asian Handicap to secure the win here.