A place in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League will be at stake on Tuesday as Ulsan Hyundai host Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in leg two of that tie at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium.
These two Korean sides played to a 1-1 draw in the opening leg of this tie last week as they each remain unbeaten in the knockout portion of this tournament.
Match preview
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Ulsan left it late in the opening leg but ultimately got what they were after, earning a result away from home for the third match running in this competition.
The reigning K1 League champions are undefeated at home in the Champions League this season, scoring multiple goals in each of those encounters.
While this side have never been eliminated at the quarter-final stage of this tournament, Ulsan have not fared well in the second leg of their recent Champions League ties, losing their previous two return engagements in this competition by a 3-0 score in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Hong Myung-bo's men are, however, in fine form heading into this contest, currently on an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions, posting consecutive clean sheets on home soil.
Ulsan have not been behind for a single minute in any of their home fixtures played this year and have not conceded in three of their last four matches played at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium.
They will enter this contest having won their last four home outings versus Jeonbuk in all competitions, keeping them off the scoresheet in their previous two encounters in Ulsan.
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Jeonbuk extended their unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions earlier this week, though they are also winless in four successive fixtures.
Last Tuesday was the second time that Dan Petrescu's men had failed to win a Champions League game this season after scoring the opening goal, while they have only triumphed once in this competition all year (2-0 over Pohang Steelers).
After losing their opening two away fixtures in this competition, Jeonbuk have gone unbeaten in their last two road games at this tournament, with their last victory as the visiting team coming on matchday five against Kitchee (2-1).
Jeonbuk have only lost one of their last seven second-leg Champions League encounters in normal time, losing 2-1 to FC Seoul in the 2016 semi-finals but still advancing and eventually lifting the trophy later that season.
The side from Jeonju have advanced from three of their last five knockout stage ties at this tournament when even after the opening leg, most recently in the 2016 quarter-finals versus Shanghai SIPG.
Although they have lost their last four visits to Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Jeonbuk won their only previous visit there in the knockout portion of this tournament, 4-1 in the 2006 semi-finals, as they would go on to capture their first Champions League title that same year.
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Team News
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From their leg two triumph over Ventforet Kofu (2-1) to their opening match last week with Jeonbuk, Ulsan made four changes to their starting 11 with Hwang Seok-ho, Lee Kyu-seong, Kim Min-hyeok and Joo Min-kyu replacing Kim Kee-hee, Ataru Esaka, Lee Dong-gyeong and Martin Adam.
Lee Myung-jae had the equalising goal for Ulsan Motors in the 77th minute last week, while Jo Hyeon-woo conceded one of the three shots that he faced.
Kwon Chang-hoon is unlikely to see the field for Jeonbuk on Tuesday because of a heel injury, while Hernandes Rodrigues is still dealing with an issue in his leg.
Song Min-kyu scored their opening goal four minutes into that first encounter with Ulsan, but Kim Jeong-hoon conceded for a second successive match in this competition.
Ulsan Hyundai possible starting lineup:
Hyeon-woo; Young-woo, Seok-ho, Kee-hee, Myung-jae; Dong-gyeong, Sang-jun; Won-sang, Min-hyeok, Ji-hyeon; Adam
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors possible starting lineup:
Jeong-hoon; Tae-hwan, Tae-wook, Jin-seop, Jin-su; Kyo-won, Byung-kwan, Seong-ung, Vinicius; Min-kyu, Orobo
We say: Ulsan Hyundai 1-1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (2-2 on aggregate, Ulsan advance on penalties)
The opening leg showed how evenly matched these two sides are, and we do not expect much will change in this decisive encounter on Tuesday.
It could very well come down to a game of chance, and if it does, we believe the home crowd, along with the overall confidence of Ulsan, will prevail.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
