Kitchee SC vs Gangwon FC Predictions
Kitchee SC and Gangwon FC meet at Mong Kok Stadium in the opening round of the AFC Champions League Two Group H.
The Hong Kong hosts have been in fine form domestically, and they could surprise a Gangwon side that has found wins hard to come by this season.
Kitchee SC to win or draw is my best bet on Thursday.
Kitchee Can Test KL1 Visitors
- Kitchee SC are unbeaten in 24 of their last 27 matches
- Kitchee SC are unbeaten in 12 of their last 13 home matches (AFC Two)
- Gangwon FC failed to win 10 of their last 12 matches
- Gangwon FC failed to win their last 4 away matches (continental fixtures)
Kitchee vs Gangwon FC Set For First-Ever Meeting
Kitchee SC and Gangwon FC will meet for the first time on Thursday.
Kitchee SC Claim Road Victory
Kitchee SC begin their continental campaign after a fine 3-1 victory over Southern District in the Hong Kong Premier League last weekend.
Ruslan Mingazov, Juninho Junior and Adrian Revilla were on target as Inigo Calderon’s side secured a convincing away win.
The reigning Hong Kong champions were deserved winners at Aberdeen Sports Ground. Kitchee enjoyed 61% possession while also registering 13 efforts on goal.
A strong start to their domestic season has seen the hosts pick up three wins and one draw from four league fixtures. SC scored ten goals in those fixtures.
Over a longer period, Inigo Calderon’s side won 22 and lost only four of 31 games in the last year.
Returning to the AFC Two for the first time since 2019, Kitchee have a strong home record in this competition. The Bluewaves lost only two of 18 AFC Two games in Kowloon since 2012.
Gangwon Held Again
Gangwon FC travel to Hong Kong after a 2-2 draw at Gimcheon in their latest K League 1 fixture.
Trailing by two goals at half-time, second-half strikes from Park Sang-hyeok and Dae-won Kim rescued a point for Kyung-ho Chung’s side.
The Bears showed plenty of resilience to fight back from two goals down, and the final match stats suggested they deserved their point. Gangwon registered more shots (16-12) and created three big chances.
A slow start to the season has seen Chung’s side win just one of their first six KL1 fixtures. Four of those games finished deadlocked.
Competing in continental competition for only the second time in their history, Gangwon struggled to make an impact on their AFC Champions League Elite debut last season.
The South Koreans finished eighth of twelve teams in the East Region league phase and failed to win any of their four away fixtures.
Kitchee SC vs Gangwon FC Team News
Kitchee SC: (3-4-3) Cheuk-Hei Pong; Roger Riera, Dudu, Callum Beattie; Ruslan Mingazov, Asier Illarramendi, Chin-Lung Cheng, Kendy; Juninho Junior, Adrian Revilla, Jay Haddow.
Head coach Calderon has a few injury issues to deal with this week.
Ruslan Mingazov, Jay Haddow and Layan Chebel Klein Nunes face late fitness tests.
Haddow is expected to lead the line should he overcome a head injury.
Gangwon FC: (4-4-1-1) Cheong-hyo Park; Kim Do-hyun, Ho-yeong Park, Marko Tuci, Abdelkarim Maamar Chaouche; Young-jun Goh, You-hyeon Lee, Min-woo Seo, Dae-won Kim; Abdallah Hleihel; Park Sang-Hyeok
Gangwon boss Chung has a fully fit squad available for Thursday’s trip to Hong Kong.
Park Sang-Hyeok is tipped to earn a recall after a goalscoring substitute appearance against Gimcheon.