Incheon United and Daegu FC set for stalemate in K-League opener

Incheon United vs Daegu FC - 09/05/2020

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Incheon United host Daegu FC to kick off the K-League season on Saturday at the Incheon Football Stadium. The two clubs had very differing seasons in 2019 with Incheon United barely escaping relegation. Will this season be the same for the club?

The Mariners finished just one point above the bottom two as they claimed a mere seven wins from 38 games. Although they only conceded 54 times, Incheon United scored the K-League's second-fewest goals (33).

Manager Lin Wan-Sup needs to find a way to get his team scoring goals or they will be one of the two teams relegated at the end of 2020.

Daegu finished 2019 in fifth place and just missed out on AFC Champions League qualification by three points. It was a strong season for the club and this year could be even better.

One of the most interesting transfer signings in the offseason was completed by Daegu. They added former FC Seoul and Suwon Bluewings striker Dejan Damjanovic.

The Montenegrin has made a career in Korea after first arriving at Incheon United in 2007. He scored over 180 goals for FC Seoul during his time with the club before moving to their rival Suwon in 2018.

Last season was a disappointment as Damjanovic scored just three times in 24 appearances. It came off of a 27-goal season the year prior. He could be the wild card at Daegu this term.

The last six meetings between Incheon United and Daegu saw the latter claim wins on four occasions. Incheon United have not defeated Daegu since the 2018 season. The Mariners have struggled to get goals against Daegu being outscored 11-5 over the course of those six encounters.

Saturday’s game should be cagey with neither team looking to make mistakes. The season will only feature 27 games, cut down from 38. After 22 matches, the league will split into two parts, a top six and bottom six.

Getting wins and collecting points will be the most important thing early in the season. However, with a lack of preseason, these teams could struggle early to claim victories, especially Incheon United, after their narrow relegation escape last term.

The first match of the K-League campaign for these teams should see the clubs finish in a stalemate. Their last meeting of 2019, played at Incheon Football Stadium, saw them draw 1-1. This time around, Incheon United and Daegu will draw once more with under 2.5 goals being scored.

Home team
Away team

Probability %

1X2

Pred

Correct score

Avg. goals

Weather conditions

Coef.

Score

Live
coef.

Kr1

Incheon United Daegu FC 09/05/2020 09:30

244234

X

0 - 0

2.31

15°-16°

3.25

3.95 3.25 2.08 1 -1 -1

FT

0 - 0(0 - 0)

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