The K League Classic has finally made it to round 26 which is the final round of the regular season. This weekends Fixtures are listed above. As this is the final round of the regular season we thought that it would be useful to make a current league table (again). The current points are in brackets:
With only 3 points still available slightly surprisingly 4 teams still are yet to finalize which side of the split they’re going to be on. They are Suwon Bluewings, Busan I’Park, Seongnam and Jeju United. Here are the possibilities:
Suwon Bluewings – They will make the championship round if they win or draw or if Busan or Seongnam fail to win. There also needs to be a 5 goal swing.
Busan I’Park – Busan will make the championship if they better Seongnams and Jejus result or win and Suwon lose (plus a 4 goal swing).
Seongnam – They will make the championship round if they win and Busan and/or Suwon (plus a 5 goal swing) lose. Or if they win and score 2 more goals than Busan. Or if they draw and Busan and Jeju lose.
Jeju United – They will make it if they win and both Busan and Seongnam lose and/or draw. Or if they draw and Busan and Seongnam lose.
Here are our brief previews of each game as well as predictions for this K League Classic Round 26:
K League Classic Round 26:
Daegu vs. FC Seoul (Sunday 7pm)
12th placed Daegu host 4th placed FC Seoul with both teams needing win for different reasons. Daegu scored a vital win during the week vs. Daejeon and will be hoping to build on that as they look to escape the relegation battle. FC Seoul draw for the 2nd game running midweek and need to win to keep their title hopes alive. We feel that FC Seoul should win this one but Daegu are much improved so it won’t be easy.
Prediction: 1 – 2
Gangwon vs. Ulsan Hyundai (Sunday 7pm)
13th placed and second bottom Gangwon host 2nd placed Ulsan Hyundai. Gangwon have the worst current form in the K League Classic and are winless in 10 games. Ulsan were also on a bad run but they broke that during the week with an impressive win over Pohang. We feel that Ulsan should win this one which sadly extends Gangwons run without a win.
Prediction: 0 – 2
Gyeongnam vs. Seongnam (Sunday 7pm)
11th placed Gyeongnam have a difficult task on Sunday as they face 8th placed Seongnam. As we already explained Seongnam still have a chance of making the Championship round however they need a good win to stand a strong chance of making it. Gyeongnam have been on poor form recently and haven’t won in 7 games. We feel that Seongnam will win this one.
Prediction: 1 – 3
Jeju United vs. Daejeon Citizen (Sunday 7pm)
9th placed Jeju United host bottom of the league Daejeon Citizen on Sunday. Jeju secured a vital win during the week on the road vs. Busan and still have a chance of making the championship round. However they will most likely need to win this game to stand any chance of making the top 7. Daejeon on the other hand are still 6 points away from safety and have only won twice this season. We honestly feel that Jeju will win but it may not be enough to gain a place in the championship round.
Prediction: 2 – 1
Jeonbuk Motors vs. Incheon United (Sunday 7pm)
Jeonbuk and Incheon have both already secured places in the championship round and so for them winning is more about the title hunt. 3rd placed Jeonbuk and 5th placed Incheon both have pretty similar form, however it was Incheon who won the previous match between them (3-1). We feel this will be a close game and a draw is the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1 – 1
Pohang Steelers vs. Busan I’Park (Sunday 7pm)
League leaders Pohang host 7th placed Busan in an important South East derby. Busan currently occupy the last space in the Championship round but only on goal different over Seongnam and therefore need a good win here to maintain their place. Pohang on the other hand let their 7 point lead on the top of the league slip to 4 points after losing during the week and so will be looking to bounce back strongly. With this game being important to both side we feel that they may cancel each other out and a draw to a likely outcome.
Prediction: 2 – 2
Suwon Bluewings vs. Chunnam Dragons (Sunday 7pm)
Finally 6th placed Suwon host 10th placed Chunnam with Suwon only needing a draw to reach the championship round. Suwon played for a draw during the week vs. Incheon and their plan backfired as they lost 3 – 1. Chunnam however won a dull game vs. Gyeongnam and stretched the gap between them and the relegation battle. This should be a close game however we feel that Suwon should edge it.
Prediction: 1 – 1
K League Classic Round 26 Results
Sunday September 1st
Suwon Bluewings 0-0 Chunnam Dragons
Pohang Steelers 1-2 Busan I’Park
Gyeongnam 0-1 Seongnam
Jeonbuk Motors 2-0 Incheon United
Gangwon 1-2 Ulsan Hyundai
Daegu 0-1 FC Seoul
Jeju United 2-1 Daejeon Citizen
These results mean that Suwon & Busan have taken the final two places in the Championship round and Seongnam & Jeju will be in the relegation round.
Gangwon have also fallen to the bottom of the League behind Daejeon on Goal difference.
Championship Round Teams: Pohang, Ulsan, Jeonbuk, Seoul, Suwon, Incheon & Busan
Relegation Round Teams: Seongnam, Jeju, Chunnam, Gyeongnam, Daegu, Daejeon & Gangwon
Our Round 26 Predictions Round Up
This week we guessed 4 correct results but no perfect scores.
K League Challenge
The K League Challenge moves into Round 22 this weekend with games again spread over 3 days. The highlight game is on Sunday and between 3rd placed FC Anyang and 2nd placed Sangju Sangmu. With both teams trying to close the gap on league leaders Korean Police this is a must win game for both sides.
K League Challenge Round 22 Results
Suwon City 1 – 2 Goyang Hi
Gwangju 1 – 0 Bucheon 1995
FC Anyang 0 – 2 Sangju Sangmu
Closing
For information on Wednesdays games, K League Classic Round 25 please CLICK HERE.
As always if you have anything you’d like to add please let us know and week.
We will try and keep things updated as best as possible via Twitter (and little via Facebook).
Tim
Modern Seoul
tim@modernseoul.org
Modern Seoul 