K League in 2025-2026 AFC Champions League Match Day 4 Preview | OneFootball

The AFC Champions League Elite league stage reaches its halfway point with a couple of Korea-Japan clashes. Gangwon FC and Ulsan HD travel across the East Sea to take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Vissel Kobe, respectively, while FC Seoul will be looking to bounce back from defeat last time out with their second match against Chinese Super League opposition in as many matches.

AFC Champions League Elite

Tuesday 4th November

Sanfrecce Hiroshima (7th, JPN) vs. Gangwon FC (3rd) - 19:00 KST

Sitting third and looking to build on the incredible win over Vissel Kobe, a match which saw Gangwon go 3-0 up, be pegged back at 3-3 before finding a late winner, the Bears again take on Japanese opposition in Match Day 4. They face a Sanfrecce Hiroshima side that narrowly lost to Ulsan HD on Match Day 3. In domestic action, the Bears earned a very credible point at home against champions Jeonbuk at the weekend, but it means that their only win in eight matches has been in the ACL, with four draws and three losses.

Sanfrecce, meanwhile, beat Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 in the J.League Cup Final in their last outing on Saturday, thanks to goals from Hayato Araki, Shunki Higashi, and Ryo Germain in the first half. The victory ended a run of three matches without one in all competitions, having suffered back-to-back losses with Ulsan 1-0 in the ACL and then 3-0 to Yokohama F. Marinos in J. League. Including this current campaign, Sanfrecce have a record of five wins, two draws, and four losses against K League opposition. Gangwon will look to their win over Vissel Kobe as a confidence boost, but are a side that's shown it can keep possession, ranking first in that regard in the whole competition with 59.5%. Sanfrecce, though, work their way into the 18-yard box with the second-highest number of touches in the opposition area (92) and the highest number of corners (28).

FC Seoul (5th) vs. Chengdu Rongcheng (9th, CHN) - 19:00 KST

Up next for FC Seoul, aiming to put a damaging K League defeat to Daejeon Hana Citizen behind them, is the visit of Chengdu Rongcheng. The side led by former Bluewings boss Seo Jung-won is the second Chinese Super League side in succession to face Seoul in ACL, but first to visit Sangam this term. They make the trip across the West Sea sitting third in the CSL table, but with one win in five domestically, and without a win in three in all competitions. A 2-0 loss to JDT in ACL was then followed up with a 2-2 draw with Qingdao West Coast, then a 2-1 loss to Henan. Seoul, meanwhile, sitting fith in K League 1 and in the ACL standings, are struggling for consistency, having recorded just two wins in their last six in all competitions. Winning ACLE may well be their only way of qualifying for the competition next season.

Chengdu Rongcheng, being in the ACL for the very first time, have only come up against K League opposition once before, losing 1-0 to Ulsan at the Munsu. FC Seoul are no strangers to Chinese Super League opposition, but have lost their last five matches against Chinese sides dating back to 2017. Their last win over CSL opposition was a 4-1 victory over Shandong Luneng in the 2016 quarterfinal. Their overall record in ACL reads won seven, drawn nine, lost seven. Two of those draws include the 2013 final with Guangzhou Evergrande, which was lost on away goals. Seoul are the East side of the competition's most accurate passers per match with 445.3, and are first for 'big chances' created, while Chengdu have committed the most fouls per match with 17, are second for yellow cards with seven, and third for tackles per match with 17.7.

Wednesday 5th November

Vissel Kobe (2nd, JPN) vs. Ulsan HD (1st)- 19:00 KST

A stark contrast from their struggling form domestically, Ulsan HD are the AFC Champions League Elite league stage leaders heading into Match Day 4, following two wins and a draw. Looking to build on the win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the Horangi travel to Kobe to take on the reigning J1 League champions. Kobe, though, suffered defeat to Gangwon FC in their last ACL outing, but sit second. A win, then, could send Kobe top.

Ulsan will be looking to put the disappointing loss to FC Anyang behind them. With relegation returning as a genuine concern, or at least having to go through the relegation playoffs and a crunch clash with Suwon FC to come this Sunday, caretaker manager Noh Sang-rae may look to field a second string in Kobe. Kobe, meanwhile, drew 2-2 with Albirex Niigata on Sunday, making it back-to-back draws in the league and no wins in four in all competitions, and will be keen to return to winning ways. They are fourth in the table, five points behind leaders Kashima Antlers, with three games to go. Wednesday's contest may take a back seat with domestic commitments more of a priority in the short term. Vissel Kobe are the top scorers in the East side of the competition with seven and first for shots on target per match with 5.7, but Ulsan have the joint-second lowest goals against tally with two, sit third for clearances made per match with 31, and fourth for accurate crosses per match with 4.7.

AFC Champions League Two

Thursday 6th November

Pohang Steelers (2nd) vs. Tampines Rovers (1st, SGP) - 19:00

Pohang Steelers will be looking for revenge when Tampines Rovers visit the Steel Yard on Thursday. The Singapore Premier League side struck inside 15 seconds in the first meeting between the two sides in Match Day 3. Steelers boss Park Tae-ha admitted he was disappointed with the performance and so may want to field more of a stronger side for the home clash. Rovers are currently third in their domestic league following two wins and two draws. They beat Hougang United 2-1 in their last domestic outing on October 27th, and sit to of Group H in ACL Two following three wins. The win over Pohang was their first-ever over a K League side, having previously suffered heavy losses to Jeonbuk in 2021.

Koya Kazama is the competition's joint-top scorer with three goals in three matches and first for big chances created with four. Cho Sang-hyeok is second for shots per 90 with 8.8 and third for shots on target per 90 with 3.7. The top three most accurate passes made per 90 have all been made by Pohang players - Kim Dong-jin (99), Lee Dong-hee (98.3), and Jonathan Aspropotamitis (94). As a team, Pohang have had the most possession among all the teams from the East with 69.9% on average, have dispatched the joint-highest number of shots on target per match with seven, the most accurate passes per match, the second-highest number of accurate long balls per match, and are second for accurate crosses per match with 9.3. Coach Park, then, will be hoping that the 1-0 loss in Match Day 3 was a mere blip.