Seongnam Chunma Takes on Incheon United, FC Seoul Meets Chunnam Dragons

The K-League playoffs will kick off Saturday as third-ranked FC Seoul hosts the sixth-ranked Chunnam Dragons at Seoul World Cup Stadium while No. 4 Seongnam Chunma takes on fifth-place Incheon United, Sunday, at Seognam Stadium.

The winners of those matches will meet in the next round on Nov. 25, which will decide the semifinalist that will play against second-place Pohang Steelers at the Steelyard four days later.

Finally, the winner of that match will take on Jeonbuk Motors, the regular season winner, in a two-leg championship series on Dec. 2 and 6.

Jeonbuk and Pohang, the top two teams in the regular season, and FA Cup Champion Suwon BlueWings have all earned automatic qualifications for the 2010 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League. The four remaining playoff teams will grind it out for the fourth and final entry.

The three-time league champion Seoul is seeking revenge against the Dragons for spoiling its automatic berth into the Champions League.

Turkish manager Senol Gunes' side, which occupied one of the top two spots in the standings throughout most of the season, dropped to third after drawing with Chunnam 1-1 on the final day of the season.

Midfielders Ki Sung-yueng and Kim Chi-woo have returned from the national team's European tour, and strikers Lee Seung-yeoul and Jung Jo-gook will have to step up to replace teammate Dejan Damjanovic, who is unavailable due to being sent off in the team's final match.

The Montenegrin footballer was ejected after shouting at the Dragons coaching staff and throwing his shirt in front of them during his goal celebration.

Seoul also met Chunnam in the season opener and handed them a 6-1 drubbing.

"We will take an offensive-minded approach to beat Chunnam,'' assistant coach Lee Young-jin said in a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday.

Gunes was not present at the press conference due to the flu.

"We expect Ki Sung-yueng, who has rejoined the team, and Jung Jo-gook and Lee Seung-yeoul, who are in good shape, to perform well for the team,'' he added.

Park Hang-seo's men notched two wins and as many draws in its final four matches, but has not won in its last four road games with two draws and two losses.

"The players are motivated. Seoul is just an opposing team we need to beat on our way to the championship,'' Park said.

"We have analyzed Seoul completely, so I am confident of winning the match.''

Seongnam is seeking to make up for its FA Cup final loss with a good showing in the playoffs.

The Chunma, a seven-time league winner, fell to the BlueWings 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the FA Cup title match.

Seongnam, 4-1 in its last five games, has hopes of continuing its explosive goal touch, which churned out 13 goals during the span.

In addition, national team players ― midfielder Kim Jung-woo and goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong ― have returned to the squad.

Seongnam, which has been 6-7-3 against Incheon all time in their fixtures, failed to defeat Serbian boss Ilija Petkovic's men this season, posting two ties and one loss.

The Chunma, headed by first-year coach Shin Tae-yong, will look to stop United's rookie striker Yoo Byung-soo, who scored an equalizer in each of their two 1-1 draws.

ksw@koreatimes.co.kr