K League 1's 2 worst clubs to clash on weekend

Busan IPark fullback Kim Moon-hwan, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a game-sealing goal during the K League 1 eighth round match against Incheon FC at the Incheon Football Stadium, Sunday. / Yonhap

There will be something for everyone in the K League 1 this coming weekend.

If you appreciate some quality, high-end football, you can check out the showdown between the two best teams this season, the top-ranked Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors against No. 2 Ulsan Hyundai FC at 6 p.m. Sunday.

But if you're the type who enjoys train wrecks, tune in at 7 p.m. Saturday, as the two worst teams in the league will square off in the nation's capital.

FC Seoul, losers of five straight, will host Incheon United, which have dropped six in a row, at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Their losing streaks are the two longest so far this season.

Perhaps both streaks will end Saturday with a draw, or one club will emerge victorious, while the other will be left searching for answers yet again.

FC Seoul have fallen to 11th place on six points from two wins and six losses. In their last five losses, FC Seoul have been outscored 13-1. Incheon are in last place as the league's only winless club with two draws and six losses. They've scored a league-low three goals so far and have suffered four-straight one-goal losses.

For the season, FC Seoul have given up a league-worst 18 goals. The five-game slide began when their defensive stalwart Osmar was sidelined with an injury.

And to bolster their backline, FC Seoul on Tuesday acquired former national team defender Yun Young-sun on a loan deal that runs through the end of this season.

A member of the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad, Yun has 235 K League matches to his credit. While playing for Seongnam FC in 2018, Yun was named to the season-end K League 2 Best XI.

FC Seoul said the 31-year-old center back is a strong man-to-man defender who can stabilize the entire defense corps. Yun will make his FC Seoul debut against Incheon.

The injury situation is even worse for Incheon United, which have lost forward Lanre Kehinde for the rest of the season with a torn knee ligament and will not have forward Stefan Mugosa against FC Seoul due to an ankle injury.

Mugosa led Incheon with 14 goals last year, but it took him seven matches to get on the board this year. He injured his ankle after landing awkwardly following an aerial battle for a loose ball last weekend against Busan IPark.

Incheon have stumbled out of the gate in recent seasons, only to recover in the latter portion of the schedule and barely avoid getting relegated to the K League 2.

This year teams will play 27 matches instead of the usual 38, with the schedule cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, and Incheon will soon run out of time to dig themselves out of the hole.

The worst team in the K League 1 at the season's end will be automatically relegated to the second division, and the second-to-worst team will fall to a promotion-relegation playoff against a playoff winner from the K League 2. (Yonhap)

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