On August 31st at 19:35 Beijing time, the quarter-final of the FA Cup will be a highly anticipated matchup. Beijing Guoan, who have been performing brilliantly in the Chinese Super League recently, will host Shandong Luneng, the veteran team of the AFC Cup.
Recently, Beijing Guoan has been performing strongly in the Chinese Super League, accumulating 10 points in 4 consecutive rounds of matches with 3 wins and 1 draw without tasting defeat. With such a performance, they managed to kill their way into the top four of the Chinese Super League, overwhelming the Zhejiang team. However, considering the fact that they are already 12 points away from top-ranked Shanghai Seaport, it has basically become very difficult for Beijing Guoan to compete for the Super League title. Having lost the possibility of contending for the title, it is only natural that they would be more eager to win the AFC Cup.
Given this fact, Beijing Guoan will definitely pay more attention in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Considering the opponent is the powerful Shandong Luneng, head coach Luis Suarez will go all out and send his strongest starting lineup to the match without any reservation. Here is a brief prediction of the possible starting lineup of Guoan for this match.
In the goalkeeper position, Beijing Guoan will naturally send their main goalkeeper Han Jiaqi as the keeper. In the backline, Su will likely opt for a solid 4-back formation, with Ngadeu and Zhang Chengdong playing as a double center-back combination, while Li Lei and Wang Gang will play important roles at left and right back respectively.
In the midfield, there is no doubt that Guoan will rely on Ji Zhongguo, a national footballer, to take charge of the interception and stealing tasks in the midfield and backfield; while the double back combination with Ji Zhongguo will be completed by Li Ke, a naturalized player of the national football team. In the front of the attack of the core position, the recent outstanding Zhang Xizhe will serve as the soul of Guoan midfield, responsible for leading the team's front attack line.
Up front, there is no doubt that Beijing Guoan's attack up front will be led by newcomer Fabio Abreu. And joining him in the frontline trident will be South Korean player Kang Xiangyu and former Guangzhou Evergrande player Yang Liyu.
Based on the above analysis, it is expected that Beijing Guoan's starting lineup for the AFC Cup do-or-die match against Shandong Luneng will be Han Jiaqi, Li Lei, Ngaardew, Zhang Chendong, Wang Gang, Ji Zhongguo, Li Ke, Zhang Xunzhe, Fabio Abreu, Jiang Xiangyou and Yang Liyu.
