What a win by Augsburg to come back from a goal and win 1-3 and earn qualification to Europa group stages. Little Augsburg now will mix it up with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United. An excellent match.
Winter break is nearing for non-British teams so in bad news, the matches will start thinning out... but in good news, I'll be less busy typing these things up.
| Day | Time (ET) | Player | Club | Opponent | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 9:30 AM | Kim Jin Su | Hoffenheim | Hannover | Fox Soccer 2 Go |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | Lee Chung Yong | Crystal Palace | Southampton | USA |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | Yun Suk Young | QPR | Burnley | None |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | Ki Sung Yueng | Swansea | @Man City | NBCSN |
| Saturday | 3:45 PM | Suk Hyun Jun | Vitoria Setubal | Benfica | None |
| Sunday | 9:30 AM | Hong Jeong Ho | Augsburg | Schalke | Fox Sports 1 |
| Sunday | 9:30 AM | Ji Dong Won | Augsburg | Schalke | Fox Sports 1 |
| Sunday | 9:30 AM | Koo Ja Cheol | Augsburg | Schalke | Fox Sports 1 |
| Sunday | 11:00 AM | Son Heung Min | Tottenham | Newcastle | NBC Extra Time |
| Sunday | 11:30 AM | Park Joo Ho | Dortmund | Eintracht Frankfurt | Fox Sports 2 |
Kim Jin Su -- He's been starting regularly but you never know when the club is in the relegation zone what lineup changes will be made. I expect him to start.
Lee Chung Yong -- With Zaha having finished suspension, I don't see a return to the squad for now. Maybe he makes the bench but even that seems really unlikely right now.
Yun Suk Young -- I don't think a new manager will make a major change at LB so I expect for him to be left off for now.
Ki Sung Yueng -- The big news this week for KPAs is the sacking of Garry Monk on Wednesday. There's no specific interim plans as of writing so we'll see how much change will happen but it's very unclear who will be in the starting XI. I do expect Ki to be in the matchday squad though.
Suk Hyun Jun -- He should start in a great opportunity to impress against one of the league's stronger sides ahead of January.
Hong Jeong Ho -- Made his return to the match day squad just in time as he had to come on when JICB went down with an injury. Hong Jeong Ho showed all the things he does well, including one ridiculously great through ball from midway, a good sliding tackle to prevent a breakaway, and scoring a headed goal off a set piece that put hope into Augsburg as they went into halftime level. He had a few errors too but really were outweighed by his positive contributions. Fingers crossed that his health can stick around this time. It looks like he'll have to jump right into the starting XI this weekend.
Ji Dong Won -- A quiet performance from Ji who put in a ton of effort but didn't create much danger. Even if he plays a nominally wide position, he should be more daring. His touch betrayed him a lot too. He should be on the bench this weekend.
Koo Ja Cheol -- Continuously scrappy mixed in with moments of class, he looked to tire and move a bit gingerly as he walked off. Not sure if it was an injury but he got taken off for another striker. He should start this weekend if fresh / fit.
Son Heung Min -- A frustrating performance where there was lots of good, including two assists, good movement and good pressing work, but lots of bad, including some really poor shots and bad touches. At least he's looking confident unlike his weaker performances at Leverkusen... but he needs to be both a bit more aggressive and more effective in attack to live up to his fee. He was left on the pitch for the full 90 and Lamela scored a hat trick, so I expect Son to be on the bench to start this weekend.
Park Joo Ho -- Ugh. He had so many great crosses but fans will remember his egregious error when he failed to follow Hummels forward and kept the PAOK attacker onside who went on to score. He looked to be getting better than previous showings but still didn't take advantage of an opportunity to really excel. He'll be lucky to make the squad this weekend, and may need winter break to get some of his missing quickness back and maybe get his mind off whatever's been hampering his performances.
