Pohang Steelers vs. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Betting Preview – K League 1, June 16

Another huge game in K League 1 as Pohang welcomes champions Jeonbuk to the Steel Yard in one of the highlights of the midweek fixtures.

Jeonbuk has made steady, if not exceptional, progress in defending its title so far and will be hoping for another positive result here.

I understand why BetOnline has made Jeonbuk favorite to win this one. The Green Warriors are the reigning champions and are top of the league. But something is missing from Jeonbuk’s game this season so far.

I think the odds for a draw or even a home win look interesting here.

Pohang made amends for the embarrassingly heavy beating at the hands of local rivals Ulsan last week in another high scoring game on Saturday as it beat Sangju Sangmu 4-2 away from home. A flurry of goals either side of the interval ended the army team’s hopes of victory.

Wanderson’s departure before the start of this season looks less and less important thanks to the goal-scoring talents of Stanislav Iljutcenko and Aleksandar Palocevic. They both added two goals each to their personal tallies against Sangju Sangmu and will be keen to test themselves against a Jeonbuk side that has only conceded three goals so far this season.

It was another clean sheet for the Green Warriors on Saturday as it beat a struggling Incheon United side. The three points were obviously welcome – and kept Jeonbuk top of the table – but the 1-0 scoreline does not suggest that the champions will sweep away all before them this season.

Manager Jose Morais sat out the final game of his suspension for that Incheon game, so maybe his position on the sideline will give his team more impetus against Pohang. But, even if the results have been largely positive so far, Jeonbuk has not dominated games in the way it has in previous seasons. This could be a much closer game than many are expecting.

I don’t think Jeonbuk is going to get its own way all the time this season – and I’m also not sure that it will be just Ulsan that challenges at the top of the table.

Pohang has already shown that it can be very inconsistent, producing performances that are sometimes difficult to predict. But I’m going with a home win here for the Steelers and a result that will shake up K League 1 still further as it gets into the groove of the season.

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