The K League Classic is back!! The 2016 season kicks off this weekend with 6 interesting games. The highlight match is the Korean Super Cup of sorts with last seasons League Champions Jeonbuk Hyundai taking on FA Cup winners FC Seoul. These two sides have been hotly tipped to challenge for the title this season so this should be a good game.
Also for a review of the 2015 K League Classic Season summary CLICK HERE
For the 2016 K League Classic Season Preview & Prediction CLICK HERE
K League Classic 2016 Round 1 Previews & Predictions
This round of games take place on Saturday (3) and Sunday (3). All of the games take place in the afternoon. Here are our brief previews and predictions for the opening round of 2016 K League Classic games;
Saturday March 12th 2016:
Jeonbuk Hyundai vs. FC Seoul (2pm)
Jeonbuk Hyundai won their second title in as many years last season and made it look pretty easy. However in their 2 Champions League games they’ve won one and lost one. FC Seoul on the other hand in the Champions League have won both of their games scoring 10 goals. FC Seoul have a dangerous looking attacking line and this game will have goals, although the final outcome will likely be a draw.
Prediction: 2 – 2
Seongnam FC vs. Suwon Bluewings (2pm)
Seongnam FC finished last season 5th in the league and surprised many people as they were also balancing a Champions League run. Suwon Bluewings finished runners-up for the second season and will be hoping to go one step better this season. Seongnam are normally strong at home and Suwon solid away, so we see this also ending in a draw.
Prediction: 1 – 1
Pohang Steelers vs. Gwangju (4pm)
Pohang Steelers gained a Champions League place last season by finishing 3rd, in that campaign they’ve picked up 4 points including a point away at Chinese super rich side Guangzhou Evergrande. Gwangju finished last season in the bottom half but still did better than most expected. We see Pohang edging this one as they’re maybe a little more mit-fit at this point.
Prediction: 2 – 0
Sunday March 13th 2016:
Jeonnam dragons vs. Suwon City FC (2pm)
Jeonnam Dragons once again finished mid-table last season, they never really found a good spell of form. Suwon City FC won promotion via the playoffs from the K League Challenge, becoming the first debut Classic side in almost 10 years. We’re giving Suwon the edge but they might not fare as well during the rest of the season.
Prediction: 1 – 2
Jeju United vs. Incheon United (2pm)
Jeju United finished 6th last season only 2 places above FA Cup runners-up Incheon United. Jeju are famously strong at home, however Incheon have built a solid squad during the off-season so this is a tough one to call. However we’re giving Jeju the edge as they’re at home.
Prediction: 1 – 0
Sangju Sangmu vs. Ulsan Hyundai (4pm)
Sangju Sangmu return to the K League Classic after winning the K League Challenge season for the second time. They’ve become a bit of a yo-yo side in recent years, partly due to the fact their squad is made up of Military Service players from other K League sides. Ulsan finished last season mid-table and were average during the whole of 2015. It’s difficult to known how these two will cope this season, but we’ll give the edge to the home side.
Prediction: 2 – 1
K League Classic 2016 Round 1 Results
Saturday March 12th 2016:
Jeonbuk Hyundai 1 – 0 FC Seoul
Seongnam FC 2 – 0 Suwon Bluewings
Pohang Steelers 3 – 3 Gwangju
Sunday March 13th 2016:
Jeju United 3 – 1 Incheon United
Jeonnam Dragons 0 – 0 Suwon City FC
Sangju Sangmu 2 – 0 Ulsan Hyundai
Pictures and Instagram Posts from K League Classic 2016 Round 1
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K League Classic 2016 Round 1 Predictions Round Up
2 Correct Result with no perfect scores.
K League Challenge 2016
The K League Challenge (2nd tier of Korean Football) returns in 2 weeks on March 26th.
Finally
For information on the all of our previous K League Round by Round Previews and More: CLICK HERE
As always if you have anything you’d like to add please let us know. 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 