Ulsan HD, pursuing league leader FC Seoul, is aiming for its first four-game winning streak in K League 1 in about two years and three months.

Ulsan, led by manager Kim Hyun-seok, will play a home match against Gangwon FC for Round 23 of the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on the 16th.

After breaking a five-game winless streak (2 draws, 3 losses) with a 3-1 away victory over Seoul on June 26, Ulsan extended its winning streak to three games by defeating FC Anyang (3-1) and Pohang Steelers (2-0).

Accumulating 37 points (11 wins, 4 draws, 7 losses), Ulsan climbed to second place in the standings.

Meanwhile, Seoul (44 points, 13 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses) has stuttered with 2 draws and 1 loss in its last three matches, narrowing the gap with Ulsan to 7 points.

Earlier this season, Ulsan recorded three-game winning streaks on two occasions.

However, neither streak was extended further.

The last time Ulsan achieved a winning streak of four or more games in K League 1 was a five-game run from the match against Suwon FC on April 6, 2024, to the match against Seoul on May 4, 2024.

Now, Ulsan is eyeing another four-game win, but the opponent is somewhat tricky.

Gangwon, managed by manager Jung Kyung-ho, currently sits in fourth place with 32 points (8 wins, 8. draws, 5 losses).

Gangwon has struggled recently in the league with 1 draw and 2 losses.

Furthermore, Gangwon suffered a frustrating 0-1 defeat after extra time on the 11th against Gamba Osaka (Japan) in the 2026-2027 AFC Champions League Elite playoff, where the team failed to make timely substitutions due to poor officiating.

Even so, Gangwon is by no means an easy opponent for Ulsan.

In their all-time K League head-to-head record, Ulsan holds a commanding lead with 30 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses against Gangwon.

However, in their last five encounters starting from last year, Gangwon has the upper hand with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss.

Last year, when Ulsan experienced its worst-ever season and finished in ninth place, Gangwon remained undefeated against them with 1 win and 2 draws.

In their first encounter this season, Ulsan won 3-1, but in their second matchup, Gangwon defeated Ulsan 2-0 as Ulsan was aiming for a fourth consecutive victory.

Following that loss, Ulsan fell into a five-game winless slump before securing three straight wins, and now they face Gangwon once again.

During its three-game winning momentum, Ulsan scored 8 goals and conceded only 2.

At the center of this upward trend are last season's K League 1 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Lee Dong-gyeong and super-sub Yago.

Lee Dong-gyeong, the core of Ulsan's "zero-top" tactic, has recorded attacking points in five consecutive matches (4 goals, 3 assists).

He has already accumulated 15 attacking points (9 goals, 6 assists) this season and is on pace to surpass his record from last season (13 goals, 12 assists).

He ranks second in scoring and first in assists.

Yago leads the K League 1 scoring charts with 11 goals this season.

Notably, after starting matches on the bench and coming on as a substitute, he has scored in three consecutive games.

Yago's 11 goals include two scored in the first encounter against Gangwon.

Gangwon is also set to counter with Kim Dae-won (7 goals, 5 assists), the team's top scorer this season, and super-sub Abdallah (7 goals).

Meanwhile, Seoul, marching toward its first title in 10 years, will host Daejeon Hana Citizen on the 15th to secure a win and snap a three-match winless stretch.

Ninth-place Daejeon successfully turned the tide after laboriously breaking a nine-game winless chain (5 draws, 4 losses) to claim two consecutive victories.

Defeating even Seoul would give them even greater momentum for a rebound.

Daejeon also holds fond memories of handing Seoul its first defeat of the season at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, after Seoul had started the season with four straight wins and an overall seven-match unbeaten run (6 wins, 1 draw).

The fierce battle for positions in the mid-to-upper tier continues as well.

Looking at the standings, leader Seoul and second-place Ulsan are separated by 7 points, but from Ulsan down to eighth-place Pohang (28 points), teams are densely packed within a 9-point difference.

With standings fluctuating wildly with every single match result, fifth-place Jeju SK (31 points) and sixth-place Anyang (30 points) will face each other at the Jeju World Cup Stadium on the 15th.

(Photo courtesy of Korea Professional Football League, Yonhap News)