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NEWS

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2024 K League 2 Playoffs: Jeonnam Dragons vs. Busan IPark Preview

league 2024.11.17   I   hits 579

The regular season is done and dusted in K League 2 and the playoffs begin. Three K League 2 teams will run the gauntlet, starting with two highly decorated teams with multiple trophy wins between them, Jeonnam Dragons and Busan IPark.

Overview & Match Information

Fixture: Jeonnam Dragons vs. Busan IPark
Competition: 2024 Hana Bank K League 2 Semi Playoff
Venue: Gwangyang Football Stadium
Date: Thursday 21st November, 19:00 KST
Streaming: Coupang Play (Korea) K League TV (Global)

The 2024 K League 2 playoffs get underway on Thursday with Jeonnam Dragons hosting Busan IPark in a single-leg crunch match. Jeonnam, having finished fourth in K League 2, have home advantage and only need a draw to progress to the next phase, an away fixture with Seoul E-Land. Busan IPark, therefore, must win in Gwangyang.

Jeonnam Dragons are seeking a first return to K League 1 since the club's relegation in 2018. A fourth-place finish matches the club's best end to a season in K League 2. Busan IPark came ever so close to winning K League 2 in 2023, losing out on the final day of the season to a late equaliser. In the playoffs, what was then Park Jin-sub's men beat Suwon FC in the first leg but then lost the second. The Royals, under Jo Sung-hwan, are aiming to put last year's heartbreak behind them and seal a return to K League 1 after three seasons back in the second tier.



Playoff History

Jeonnam have only been involved in the playoffs once before, finishing fourth in 2021 to set up an away tie with Daejeon Hana Citizen. With the score ending 0-0, the Dragons were knocked out. Busan as a club have a lot of experience in the playoffs, having been both relegated and promoted via K League's end-of-season showpiece. The Royals suffered relegation in 2015, losing to Suwon FC, and then came close to returning to the top flight via the playoffs in 2017 and 2018 before eventually winning promotion again in 2019 after overcoming Nakdong River Derby rivals Gyeongnam FC. 

Recent Form


Jeonnam Dragons welcome Busan IPark to Gwangyang Football Stadium on the back of two wins on the spin with seven goals scored and none conceded. On the final day of the season, Jeonnam put four past Seoul E-Land in Mokdong in something of a statement win and performance, with Fessou Placca bagging a brace and goals from Valdivia and Park Tae-yong. The victories brought an end to a run of three without one, but at Dragon Dungeon Jeonnam's form has varied with two wins, two losses, and one draw in their last five.


Busan make the trip west having also won their last two matches, scoring three times in both. On the last day of the season, needing to win to guarantee a place in the playoffs, Busan beat Bucheon FC 1995 by three goals to one thanks to goals from Son Hwi, Peniel Mlapa, and Fessin. Much like Jeonnam, the two wins ended a run of three without one.

Head-to-Head

Busan IPark have won the last two meetings, earning a 2-1 away win in September courtesy of a brace by Peniel Mlapa, and a 3-2 win in Gwangyang with Lee Dong-soo scoring twice with goals either side of a Yuhei Sato effort. The first meeting of 2024 ended in a 1-0 Jeonnam win in Busan, Kim Jong-min with the game's only goal.

Overall, there have been 80 previous meetings between Jeonnam Dragons and Busan IPark, dating back to 1995. The Dragons have won 34 of those 80 meetings and Busan 27 with 19 draws. In South Jeolla Province, the record reads 17 Jeonnam wins, 14 for Busan, and eight draws in 39 matches. The first K League 2 meetings came in the 2019 season following Jeonnam's relegation the year before. In the second tier, the record reads

What to Watch

There should be plenty of shots in this game. From the three league meetings this term, there have been a total of 65 shots - Busan with 32 and Jeonnam with 33 - working out at 21.66 per match on average. This might be of little surprise as the two teams rank highly for total goals with Jeonnam's 61 the second-highest and Busan's 55 the fourth-highest. In terms of total shots, Busan rank third with 473 and Jeonnam eighth with 409. Busan have shown better accuracy, though, with 40% enough to sit third in the league in that regard, while Jeonnam's 35.9% is the second lowest.

The first goal in this one may be key. Both sides have earned exactly 50 points from winning positions with Busan having led 19 times this season, Jeonnam 20. But should Busan go ahead at Dragon Dungeon on Thursday, that might not necessarily mean the end of the world for Jeonnam as no team in K League 2 this season has earned more points from losing positions than Jeonnam Dragons, earning 27 from 24 deficits. 

Another curious note about this fixture is that both teams tend to fare better away from home. Jeonnam have won 16 matches this season, 10 of which came away from home while Busan won 12 of 16 on the road.

Who to Watch

Valdivia, Jeonnam Dragons


Valdivia has 12 goals for the season and is Jeonnam's top scorer and joint third in the division, while five assists means a total of 17 goal contributions in 33 appearances. The Brazilian, who won the league's MVP award last year, is sure to be in the conversation again this year. The flamboyant attacking midfielder ranks joint ninth for total shots dispatched with 71 and fifth for shots from outside the area with 40. Four of his 12 goals were struck from outside the box, the joint-most in the division, while five came from the penalty spot. His goals in tight games have been the difference in seven points extra for the Dragons, and when including assists, it would be more like 13 points more. Valdivia has scored and assisted against Busan this season but did so in a 3-2 Jeonnam loss. Last season, too, his goal in the Round 11 meeting in Gwangyang ended in a 1-1 draw. The former Internacional attacking midfielder will be determined to score and assist in a Jeonnam win this time around.


Peniel Mlapa, Busan IPark


Towering forward Peniel Mlapa will be feeling confident when he and Busan IPark make the trip to Gwangyang having bagged a brace during his last visit there in a 2-1 win. The former Togo international has two goals in his last two games, too, helping Busan get over the line and qualify for the playoffs in what has been a very tight and hotly-contested race for the top five. Mlapa has been deployed as the main striker in a front three, either a 3-4-3 or a 3-4-2-1, has an xG of 4.57 in K League 2, 8.1 overall including his stint with Daejeon in the top tier, and has shown 48% shooting accuracy in K League 2. 

Where to Watch

Follow the match LIVE, for FREE, and in HD on TV.KLeague.com.