Clash of 2 S. Koreans on horizon in Premier League

All News 09:54 August 19, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- The two South Korean players in the Premier League this season, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, are gearing up for their clubs' first meeting of the season this weekend, with each looking for his first goal of the campaign.

Spurs will bring home Wolves at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London at 12:30 p.m. Saturday (local time), or 8:30 p.m. Saturday in South Korea.

In this Associated Press photo, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur (R) vies for the ball with N'Golo Kante of Chelsea during the clubs' Premier League match at Stamford Bridge in London on Aug. 14, 2022. (Yonhap)

Son, who won the Golden Boot last season with a career high 23 goals, has been held scoreless over his first two matches this season, though he does have an assist. Hwang, in his second season with Wolves, also has an assist but no goals yet.

If both Son and Hwang see action -- which is likely since they started each of their teams' first two matches -- it will be the third meeting in England between the national team mainstays.

In this Reuters photo, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur (R) is in action against Reece James of Chelsea during the clubs' Premier League match at Stamford Bridge in London on Aug. 14, 2022. (Yonhap)

In September 2021, the two teams met in the third round of the Carabao Cup, and Tottenham prevailed 3-2 in a penalty shootout. Then in February this year, Son and Hwang faced each other in the Premier League for the first time, with Wolverhampton coming out on top 2-0.

Neither player scored in those two games.

In this Action Images photo via Reuters, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers (R) takes a shot against Fulham during the clubs' Premier League match at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, on Aug. 13, 2022. (Yonhap)

Tottenham opened this season with a 4-1 victory over Southampton and had a dramatic 2-2 draw against Chelsea.

Son looked to be in midseason form against Southampton but was completely neutralized by Chelsea.

Wolverhampton, on the other hand, lost to Leeds United 2-1 in the opener and played Fulham to a scoreless draw. And with forward Raul Jimenez sidelined with a knee injury, Hwang and other attackers must pick up the slack for the winless club.