- Ulsan Hyundai’s 2025 K-League 1 campaign finished in 9th with 44 points, conceding 50 goals and scoring 42.
- Gangwon FC’s 2025 K-League 1 season finished in 5th place, showing greater consistency and squad balance.
Ulsan Hyundai
- The hosts, who will be managed by club legend Kim Hyun-seok for the first time this season, have always had an open, attacking mentality, but were beset by defensive frailties and struggled to find their attacking rhythm in a poor season finish in 2025.
- His 4-2-3-1 system is designed to play through the middle of the field and has a high-pressing aspect to it, but ultimately it will be about playing with more verticality and creating more chances than they did in 2025.
- Ulsan should have more potency in attack this year with the presence of Darijan Bojanić at the base of their midfield, but there is a lot of work to be done before this team plays to their potential and belief has to be built.
- Jo Hyun-woo is an experienced goalkeeper who knows the squad well, but will be sweating if his defence does not remain compact and disciplined, while Erick Farias will be the main focal point in the attack after finishing as Ulsan’s leading scorer with ten league goals in 2025.
Gangwon FC
- Gangwon, by contrast, will be the more familiar and settled team on the pitch on Saturday with coach Chung Kyung-ho still at the helm and in possession of a squad that knows his tactics and game plan very well.
- His side will sit deep and compact, often in a three or five at the back with Lee Ki-hyuk the bedrock of the defense and Lee Gwang-yeon an able and experienced shot-stopper.
- Their 5th place finish in 2025 was no fluke - it was built on consistency and balance.
- They collected enough points in the second half of the season to stay in the top half and will be looking for a strong away win at Ulsan to get their 2026 campaign off to a good start.
- Mo Jae-hyeon and Kim Gun-hee were among the club’s top scorers in 2025 and will be the biggest threats in the game.
- Both are capable of breaking away and exploiting space in transition and this will be a classic clash of structure vs transition.
Head-to-Head
Ulsan have won around 70% of all head-to-head K-League 1 and cup contests up to 2024, but a resurgent Gangwon have turned the rivalry into a more even affair and will definitely not be pushovers on their 2026 opener.
Key Players
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Ulsan Hyundai:
- Darijan Bojanić at the base of their midfield should add potency to the attack.
- Jo Hyun-woo and Erick Farias (Ulsan’s leading scorer with ten league goals in 2025) will be central to how the hosts perform.
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Gangwon FC:
- Lee Ki-hyuk and Lee Gwang-yeon will be important for defensive shape and goalkeeping security.
- Mo Jae-hyeon and Kim Gun-hee are the main attacking threats and dangerous on the break.
Betting Insights
- Ulsan’s match odds of 2.3 and Gangwon’s 3.2 are skinny, although the 3.1 available about the draw is also small considering the visitors won two and drew one of their last five meetings in 2024-25.
- Backing the 'Under 2.5 Goals' option at 1.67 looks like the best bet in the betting for what should be a low-scoring, cagey affair.
Prediction
Ulsan will have to be patient and the visitors will keep things tight and may nick a goal to claim a 1-1 draw in a game that means more to them.
