Saturday's 100th K League Super Matchbring together two bitter rivals, FC Seoul and Suwon Samsung Bluewings. It's a rivalry that dates back to the mid-1990s and has seen K League titles decided, goal-filled thrillers, last-minute winners, last-minute equalisers, heroes become the villain and vice versa, as well as some of the biggest crowds the league has ever seen.
Venue: Seoul World Cup Stadium
Date: Sat. 22 April 2023, 14:00 KST
Competition: 2023 Hana 1Q K League 1
Last 5: FC Seoul LWLWD Suwon Bluewings LLDLL
FC Seoul head into this weekend's Super Match on the back of a mini-unbeaten run of two matches, having beaten Daegu FC 3-0 in Round 6 before earning a 1-1 draw with Pohang Steelers last time out. That has given An Ik-soo's men a record of four wins, one draw, and two losses and is enough to sit fourth in the table.
Suwon Bluewings, meanwhile, have only tasted victory in the FA Cup so far this season. In the league, the Bluewings have picked up two points following draws with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Gangwon FC. The Bluewings prop up the K League 1 table but a win could take them above Gangwon.
Team News
FC Seoul will be without defender Kwon Kan-kyu following his red card away to Pohang last week. The former Steelers and Seongnam centre back will serve a one-match suspension. This could lead to Osmar dropping back into centre back after being deployed in midfield away to Pohang. Another option is Hwang Hyun-soo with Lee Han-beom back in training but not expected to feature just yet.
Suwon don't have any suspensions to worry about but caretaker manager Choi Sung-yong will be sweating over the fitness of Maxwell Acosty. The former FC Anyang winger has been out since mid-March.
Head-to-Head
FC Seoul have won 50% of the last 10 meetings with five victories to Suwon's three and two draws. Goals, though, are dead even at 14 each.
Last season, though, Suwon won two matches - including a 3-1 victory in the capital last September - while Seoul won one. The most recent encounter, which came in October, ended as a 0-0 draw.
Overall, there have been 99 previous Super Matches and FC Seoul have won 39 of them, Suwon 35, and 25 draws. Suwon, though, have scored more goals in this fixture with 130 to Seoul's 122.
What to Watch
Shooting on sight of goal
Both teams like to shoot from distance, Suwon Bluewings more so having made the most shots from outside the area this season with 44. Seoul are joint third in this regard with 38. Suwon, despite having only scored seven times this term, have the second-best shooting accuracy in the division with 36 of their total 96 shots finding the target. FC Seoul, on the other hand, despite having scored 13 goals to be among the top three for goals, have one of the smallest shot tallies with 72 - only Daejeon and Gangwon have dispatched fewer. Saturday's game, then, will be a contest between one of the more trigger-happy teams, to one that has been more economical with its attempts on goal.
Who to Watch
Na Sang-ho & Hwang Ui-jo, FC Seoul
Winger Na Sang-ho in good form and has scored in each of his last three games to reach four for the season. Na has registered four shots on target meaning that when he does hit the target, he usually scores. Na's Korean international teammate Hwang Ui-jo, is joint third for shots (17) and second for shots on target (9). The former Bordeaux and Olympiacos man is off the mark for the season and, given how busy he has been in front of goal, appears to be edging closer to a goal from open play.
Rodrigo Bassani & Kim Bo-kyung, Suwon Bluewings
Suwon Bluewings' Brazilian attacking midfielder Rodrigo Bassani has two goals for the season so far. His most recent came last time out in the 3-2 defeat to Jeju United, breaking the deadlock in the seventh minute. This isn't the first time that Bassani has opened the scoring for the Bluewings, having also done so in the 1-1 draw with Gwangon. He, along with the Suwon faithful, will be hoping it's third time lucky and that this time, a goal can help bring three points. Experienced attacking midfielder Kim Bo-kyung, meanwhile, has seven key passes this term - the second-most at Suwon - and the second-most passes to the final third.
The Super Match has been chosen for English commentary and overseas broadcasting by K League's overseas broadcasting partners. Check local listings for more information.
Alternatively, the match is also available for FREE and in HD on
TV.KLeague.com.
