After self-denying themselves a win against Jeju that could have propelled them into ninth place, Daegu FC now find themselves in the complicated position of having to watch out for another relegation battle in the upcoming 37th round.

In Round 36 against Jeju United of the Hana Bank 2024 K League 1 at DGB Daegu Bank Park on March 3, Daegu led twice before a series of silly mistakes led to a 2-2 draw, eos파워볼 leaving them with just 40 points and 10th place in the relegation zone.

With three matches for the six teams in Final B Group kicking off simultaneously this Sunday, April 10 at 4:30 p.m., Daegu must win away to Jeonbuk Hyundai and Jeonju, and then keep track of the results of Incheon United and Daejeon Hana Citizens in Incheon.

The best case scenario for Daegu is to win against Jeonbuk, add 3 points, and then lose or tie with Daejeon to take over 9th place.

On the other hand, the worst case scenario is that Daegu loses to Jeonbuk, drops to 10th place, and then loses to last-place Incheon.

In this case, Daegu would have to play a home game against Incheon with the final round of direct relegation at stake, trailing Incheon by one point.

This complexity is compounded by the fact that Daegu, who are certain to finish higher than Incheon by Round 37, would be better off letting Incheon play them if they are certain to regain 9th place or secure 10th place, but conversely, if they miss the match, they would be better off not beating Incheon and erasing the ‘what if’ of falling to the bottom.

Daegu are two points clear of 9th place and arithmetically five points clear of Gwangju FC, meaning that eighth place is possible with two straight wins and two straight losses, but conversely, they are also four points clear of bottom-placed Daejeon and two points clear of 11th-placed Jeonbuk, who they play this round.

In this difficult position, Daegu will have to wait and see what happens to the other teams until the very end, but the priority is to secure both of their remaining matches.