Gangwon vs Gimcheon Sangmu Predictions
Gangwon welcome struggling Gimcheon Sangmu to Gangneung Stadium in the K League 1 on Saturday.
The hosts have enjoyed a decent run in recent weeks, and they should maintain winning form this weekend.
I have my money on Gangwon to claim victory at Gangneung Stadium.
Gangwon Backed at Home
- Gangwon won 3 of their last 4 matches (KL1)
- Gangwon won their last 2 matches against Gimcheon
- Gimcheon lost 3 of their last 6 matches
Gimcheon Edge H2H Record
Gangwon and Gimcheon have met on 14 occasions since 2020. Gimcheon won seven games while Gangwon secured five victories.
Saturday’s hosts have had the better of recent encounters, remaining unbeaten in their last three encounters, including a 3-0 road win earlier this season.
Gangwon Maintain Impressive Form
Gangwon return to home comforts after securing a decent point in a goalless draw against league leaders FC Seoul last weekend.
The Bears had the better of a tight contest, with the visitors missing two big chances in last Sunday’s stalemate at the World Cup Stadium.
A strong defensive display saw Gangwon limit the league leaders to just ten shots, and a final xG of only 0.46.
The Bears have been generally strong in defence this season, conceding just 11 goals in 16 KL1 contests. More recently, they have kept clean sheets in five of their last seven league matches.
Before their point picked up in Seoul, Gangwon also secured an impressive 2-1 victory at KL1 champions Jeonbuk. Kyung-ho Chung’s in-form side are unbeaten in their last seven competitive fixtures, with four wins secured in that period.
Over a longer period, Gangwon are unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 KL1 matches.
Gimcheon Struggling for Form
Gimcheon Sangmu make the trip to Gangneung after back-to-back 1-1 home draws against Bucheon and Jeju.
Ju Seung-jin's side will have been frustrated not to take all three points from either match. Gimcheon took the lead in both fixtures but were pegged back within three and four minutes respectively.
The visitors have now failed to win any of their last six games, while they remain winless in 15 of 17 KL1 games this season.
A lack of quality in front of goal has been an issue in their recent winless spell. Sangmu averaged just 0.8 goals per game in their last six fixtures, while they failed to score in each of three previous defeats against Gangwon.
Gimcheon now find themselves second from bottom of the division, with just 16 points on the board.
Gangwon vs Gimcheon Sangmu Team News
Gangwon FC: (4-4-2) Chung-Hyo Park; Joon-hyuck Kang, Marko Tuci, Gi-Hyuk Lee, Jun-Seok Song; Young-Joon Goh, You-Hyeon Lee, Min-Woo Seo, Dae-Won Kim; Byeong-Chan Choi, Jae-Hyeon Mo.
Gangwon boss Jung Kyung-ho is unlikely to make major changes after his side kept another clean sheet against FC Seoul.
Lee Gi-hyuk should continue at the heart of the defence, while Kim Dae-won and Lee are expected to feature in the forward areas.
Gimcheon Sangmu: (4-2-3-1) Jong-Beom Baek; Tae-Hwan Kim, Deok-Geun Lim, Jung-Taek Lee, Cheol-Woo Park; Kang-Hyeon Lee, Soo-Bin Lee; Jae-Hyun Go, Se-Jin Park, Joo-Chan Kim; Jae-Min Jeon.
Gimcheon could retain much of the side that drew 1-1 against Bucheon last weekend.
Jae-Hyun Go should keep his place after opening the scoring in that contest, while Se-Jin Park and Jae-Min Jeon are likely to keep their places in the visitors' attack.