Midweek Listings (Nov 28-29) / KFA Cup Final / Park Jooho to Suwon?

For the occasional Tavern lurker/passionate Tavern reader, a lot is going on in the coming days. We’ll probably have two posts a day leading up to, and possibly even beyond the World Cup draw, so don’t miss anything!

Since my World Cup Pot 1 preview post was on the longer side, we’ll keep these listings succinct.

Midweek Listings At a Glance

Courtesy of Korean Footballers Abroad

Thoughts

Kwon Changhoon, if still fit, will probably start at Amiens after being in good form recently.

Lee Chungyong’s injury, meanwhile, will still keep him out of the squad at Brighton (which is disappointing, given it’s an opportunity with the congested holiday period coming up for Lee to play).

Spurs haven’t been as dominant in the league as in Europe, but Son Heungmin has generally been consistent throughout in the past few games, so he could be in for a start at Leicester.

Lee Seungwoo could start in the cup appearance for Verona, and make his professional debut, but of course Hellas had to draw Chievo Verona, so the derby might mean a little more emphasis on the fixture than usual.

Ki Sungyueng doesn’t look like he will face disciplinary sanction for his borderline-dismissal-worthy shove of the referee against WBA. If Clement wants to park the bus, perhaps Ki takes a spot on the bench, but could still start at Chelsea.

Suk Hyunjun scoring against PSG would be the stuff of dreams. Given 3 goals in 3 games, should start. Hopefully Sukzlatan will live up to his reputation. Shin Taeyong will be flying over to France after the World Cup draw to check in on Suk, so there’s an opportunity now to re-enter the national team.

KFA Cup Final First Leg

It’s a KFA Cup of second chances: after a crushing defeat in the promotion playoff against Sangju Sangmu, Busan I’Park will need to dust themselves off and try to salvage their season against Ulsan Hyundai in the first leg of the KFA Cup final. It won’t be an easy task for Busan who have played 2 games in a week, and 2 more to go – by far the most demanding end to a season a Korean club has had to face in a while. K League United previews the first leg of that tie that goes at 5.30am EST, 7.30pm KST (so literally in half an hour when this post is published). With Ulsan Hyundai just missing out on the ACL spots through the league, their stoic, dull, pragmatic defensive approach has only one route now for Asian appreciation, and that’s through winning their first trophy since 2012.

Park Jooho to Suwon?

It may have to be the Kim Jinsu route back into the competitive playing world for Park Jooho, as rumours are swirling that the Bluewings are ready to swoop in for Park Jooho, currently lost in the wilderness at Borussia Dortmund. With club legend playmaker Santos being let go over the last couple of weeks, Suwon fans were wondering who the club would pay out for, and it will be the former Mainz and Basel fullback who made that shock move to Dortmund who seems to be at the front of the pack.

It’s probably a good career move for the 30 year-old who has done his time in Europe, but there will always be a lingering feeling of “what if” he broke through at Dortmund, or “what if” he tried a more savvy deal to give him minutes. A year and a half of much ado about nothing for Park, and though it’s high time for fresh beginnings, it’s frustrating to see another KPA’s career come to an end.