With Tottenham Hotspur’s (Tottenham) Son Heung-min and Wolverhampton’s (Wolverhampton) first Korean derby of the season just half a day away, the English Premier League (EPL) secretariat and local media have been highlighting the matchup.
Tottenham and Wolverhampton will meet for the first time this season in Round 12 of the 2023-24 English Premier League (EPL) on Nov. 11. With both Son Heung-min, who has eight goals (one assist) in 11 games this season, and Hwang Hee-chan, who has six goals (two assists) in 11 games, in the starting lineup, the matchup between the two goalscorers has been highly anticipated.
The EPL Secretariat highlighted the matchup at the league level. “Teammates in the national team, rivals in the EPL, who will win,” wrote the EPL on its official social media accounts.
Local media outlets were also very interested. The Guardian in the U.K. called the matchup “a very special one” and published an article titled “South Korea prepares for Hwang Hee-chan and Son Heung-min showdown. “Hwang Hee-chan idolizes Son Heung-min, who is arguably the best player in Asian history. But he made a hero out of himself by scoring the goal that sealed his country’s place in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar,” and added that he has already become the team’s top scorer this season.
According to the media, Jeonbuk Hyundai Technical Director Park Ji-sung visited the Wolverhampton training ground on June 6 to encourage Hwang Hee-chan. Park told the outlet, “In Korea, you can see both players everywhere, on TV and in commercials. It’s not often that you see Korean players playing against each other in the EPL, so everyone is looking forward to the matchup as both players have been on the rise recently.”
Park is right, both players are on the rise. Son Heung-min has five goals and one assist in his last six regular season games. Hwang Hee-chan is also on a six-game point streak (four goals, two assists). With another point against Tottenham, Hwang will tie Henri Camara’s club record of seven consecutive games with an attacking point.
It’s also interesting to note the EPL goal scoring race between the two players. Currently, Manchester City’s Elling Holland is the top scorer 토토 with 11 goals, followed by Son Heung-min with eight goals alongside Mohamed Salah (Liverpool). Hwang Hee-chan, with six goals, is also tied for sixth with Brian Mbemo (Brentford) and Alexander Isaac (Newcastle). Depending on whether the two players score in this match, the leaderboard will be shaken up.