Gyeongnam vs Johor Darul Ta’zim 22/05/19

22 May 2019

Gyeongnam come face-to-face with Johor Darul Ta’zim at the Changwon Football Centre Stadium in a must-win clash for the home side.

Sitting third in Group E, Gyeongnam face an uphill battle to qualify for the AFC CL knockout stage as they trail second-placed Kashima by two points ahead of the final group-stage matchday. Even though they are not without hope, the South Koreans have failed to wrap up three points in both of their last CL home outings (D1, L1), with both of those games featuring at least two goals on both ends. Additionally, Kim Jong-boo’s men have struggled to live up to expectations when at home lately, pulling off just two wins in their last eight home matches across all competitions (W2, D3, L3). Still, if Kindergarten wins here, it will probably see them score over 1.5 match goals, as all ten of their previous competitive home triumphs saw multiple goals in opponents’ net. Interestingly, seven of their last eight home victories have ended with the same 2-1 scoreline.

Meanwhile, the visitors have brought their four-game CL winless streak to a halt with a narrow 1-0 home win over Kashima last time out (W1, D1, L3), but they still sit bottom of Group E. Two of their three CL defeats have come away from home, with both of them ending with the identical 2-1 scoreline. Also, Southern Tigers have been trailing at the halftime break in all three of their CL losses. Interestingly, all four goals Johor have scored so far have come in the second half, which makes them the only team at the competition that has failed to find the net in the first period. Still, they hope to take their good road form from the recent period into this match, as they’ve won three of their last four competitive away games (W3, D1).