Korean K-League
2020-05-31 - Seoul vs Seongnam
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: South Korea : K League
Sunday 31st May 2020 - Kick Off 4:30pm
British Time: 8:30am
Preview
There would not have been too many people outside of Seoul's organisation or fan base that would have believed the kind of season this club put together in 2019. Some may have thought those standards would be difficult to maintain in 2020, especially with the added stresses of playing Asian Champions League games, but the suspension of the latter competition may actually suit Seoul.
A disappointing opening weekend defeat is behind the club who finished 3rd in the K League last season and Seoul have moved up to 3rd again with only last season's top two earning more points so far. The side have won their first League game played at home and will be looking to add to that on Sunday and keep the levels high in the South Korean capital.
Seoul did finish a huge 23 points behind Champions Jeonbuk Motors last season and much of that was down to the fact they won 1 of their last 9 games. It also meant they barely clung on to a top three finish, but Seoul have opened the 2020 campaign with 4 wins from 5 games played in all competitions.
They were beaten at Gangwon to open the K League, but Seoul have won back to back games against Gwangju and the Pohang Steelers to rally. Seoul did end the 2019 season with 3 losses in a row here, but they have won all 3 home games played in 2020 including Asian Champions League wins over Kedah and Melbourne Victory.
It should give the home team some confidence as they prepare to take on a Seongnam team who had finished 9th last season in their first season back in the K League after two seasons in the second tier. They are one of three unbeaten teams in the 2020 K League after three rounds of fixtures have been played, although Seongnam are 5th in the table with 5 points from a possible 9 secured.
The majority of those points have been earned away from home where Seongnam have a 1-1-0 record in the League having scored 3 goals and conceded 1. They earned a positive point at Gangwon last weekend, but Seongnam have drawn back to back games since beating Gwangju 0-2 on the opening weekend of the season.
Gong back to last season, Seongnam have lost 1 of their last 7 games although the majority have been played against clubs who haven't been as successful as Seoul over the last fourteen months. Seongnam are unbeaten in 4 away games and have won half of those, but again it should be noted that those have not come against any of the top four clubs from 2019.
Seoul beat Seongnam 3-1 here in the sole meeting in the capital between them in 2019.
Prediction
The early season performances from Seongnam will give the players some confidence, but this is the toughest fixture they will have dealt with in 2020.
Seoul have recovered from a surprising loss on the opening weekend to produce back to back wins and should be feeling good about themselves. They did not end 2019 in the manner they would have expected, but the wins in the Asian Champions League added to the success over Gwangju should give Seoul the confidence to win this one.
Backing them on the Asian Handicap which returns half the stake in the event of a draw looks the best way to approach this.
The Pick :
Seoul 2-1 Seongnam
