On September 18, 2024 at 20:00, the SAIC Pudong Soccer Stadium will welcome the
AFC Elite
Round 1 of the League Stage was played between Shanghai Harbour and Johor Bahru.
Shanghai Harbour is ranked 129th in the World Club Ranking, with a total squad value of €18.29 million. in the 2024 Chinese Super League season, Shanghai Harbour won 21, drew 3, and lost 1, and ranked 1st with 66 points, scoring 83 goals, conceding 23, and having a goal difference of 60. In the last round of matches after the Chinese Super League break, Shanghai Harbour hosted Shenzhen Xinpengcheng, with two internationals, Wu Lei and Jiang Guangtai, playing the whole match. Under the tenacious defense of Xinpengcheng, Shanghai Harbour won 2-0 with Wu Lei's first record and Feng Jin's substitute appearance to seal the victory and continue to lead the Chinese Super League standings. Wu Lei has scored 29 goals in the Chinese Super League (CSL) this season, equaling the 29-goal CSL season record set by Guangzhou R&F's Israeli striker Zahavi in the 2019 season, and with five rounds of the league left, there is no doubt that he will set a new record for the CSL Golden Boot.
Johor Bahru is not listed in the World Club Rankings, but the team's total value is €12.05 million, and in the 2024 Malaysian Premier League, Johor Bahru is ranked 1st with 8 wins, 1 draw, and 25 points, scoring 33 goals and conceding 4, and with a goal difference of 29. Johor Bahru has been the dominant football team in Malaysia, monopolizing the Malaysian Super League title for 10 consecutive years and winning the AFC Cup in 2015, the only Southeast Asian team to win the tournament so far. As Malaysian Premier League champions for the 2023 season, Johor Bahru qualified directly for the AFC Champions League this season. The team features seven current Malaysian internationals, as well as a number of foreign players from around the world. The team is captained by 32-year-old defenceman Amat, an Indonesian-Spanish dual citizen, who played in the English Premier League and La Liga for many years before joining Johor Bahru in 2021 after fading out of the Europa League, and started playing for the Indonesian national team the following year. 33-year-old Brazilian striker Bergsson is the team's top scorer, having won the top spot in the Barclays Premier League in 2017, and won the Golden Boot in the 2022 Malaysian Super League after joining Johor Bahru. He was the top scorer in the BBL in 2017 and won the 2022 Malaysia Super League Golden Boot after joining Johor Bahru.
Based on recent developments, this is a good match for Shanghai Harbor to win by at least 3 goals.
