It’s a big bang, literally.
Ulsan Hyundai will take on Gimcheon Commerce in the 33rd round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at 3 p.m. on June 6 at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan.
The gap between the top and bottom of the table is huge this season. The splits are already in place. Ulsan is in first place with 58 points, followed by Gimcheon with 56 points, Gangwon FC with 52 points, Pohang Steelers and FC Seoul with 50 points, and Suwon FC with 48 points. 안전놀이터 The Final A rosters have already been finalized in the previous round.
Final B, however, is a different story. Seventh-place Gwangju FC is on 40 points, Jeju United is on 38, Jeonbuk Hyundai is on 37, Daegu FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen are tied on 35, and Incheon United is on 32. It’s a very real possibility that we’ll see a series of literal slippery slope survival battles, as anyone who slips up could be in danger.
Under the current split-round system, the winner of Final A will be in the Asian Champions League (ACLE, ACL2) ticket war. In Final B, the 12th and lowest-placed team will be relegated directly to the second division. The 10th and 11th places will be decided via a promotion playoff (PO). Last season, Suwon Samsung shocked the league by being relegated.
The Ulsan-Gimcheon match will decide the first place in the regular season before the split round. Also of interest is the meeting of Lee Dong-kyung’s hometown team. For the first time in 161 days, Lee will take the field at the Ulsan Munsu soccer stadium, but not as Ulsan’s ace, but as Gimcheon’s private. Previously, Lee had seven goals and five assists in eight games this season.
Since joining the club on April 28 against Jeju United, the short-haired Lee has scored four goals and provided one assist in 13 matches for Gimcheon. He’s been a key part of Gimcheon’s sharp counterattack, moving between the second and third lines, so expectations are high for this matchup.
Ulsan is also a bit of a mixed bag. Their league form is relatively good. They are unbeaten in five games with four wins and one draw. However, they are faltering in the ACLE in midweek. They lost 0-1 at home to Kawasaki Frontale, followed by a 0-4 thrashing at home to Yokohama Marinos.
Ulsan lined up in a 4-3-3. Lee Min-gyu, Kim Ji-hyun, and Jang Si-young formed the back three. In the middle, Lee Cheong-yong, Bojanic, and Go Seung-beom start. The back four is Lee Myung-jae, Kim Young-kwon, Kim Ki-hee, and Choi Kang-min. Cho Hyun-woo is the starting goalkeeper.
Gimcheon will also play a 4-3-3-. Park Sang-hyuk, Kim Seung-seop, Mo Jae-hyun, Kim Bong-soo, Lee Dong-kyung, Seo Min-woo, Park Seung-wook, Park Soo-il, Kim Kang-san, Park Chan-yong, Kim Dong-hyun got the chance to start.
