Qingdao West Coast, ranked second before the match, has won only 3 points after two rounds of victories and beyond the advantage, and the pressure has increased dramatically. The only goal of this round, hosting Suzhou Dongwu, is to get all 3 points and consolidate their advantage. Otherwise, this round will probably be the turning point of their season's fate. Once they are squeezed out of the beyond zone, it will be hard for them to come back. Therefore, Qingdao West Coast must be ready to fight a tough battle and overcome the difficulties of Ramirez's injury and suspension. Of course, the good news is that coach Jankovic will end his suspension and return to command the field.
Nanjing City is ranked third and is in a heated battle with Jinan Xingzhou in this round. This is also a crucial matchup worth 6 points. Only with a win can we ensure that we don't fall off the pace and keep the pressure on the overtaking zone. Jinan Xingzhou has no chance to overtake. Whether they will do their best to stop Nanjing City depends on their mood.
The other overtaking favorite, Shijiazhuang Kung Fu, has slowed down significantly moving forward with four consecutive draws recently. If you still want to overtake, you have to beat Heilongjiang Bingcheng in this round or they will basically drop out of the competition. Heilongjiang Bingcheng has won six rounds in a row after finishing relegation early. I'm afraid it's going to be hard to come back from this away match against Shijiazhuang Kung Fu.
With 44 points before the match and 7 points behind the super zone, fifth-ranked Guangxi Pingguo Hanyin basically have no chance to overtake. But in this round against Dongguan Union, they will still fight for three points to improve their ranking and thus gain a supplementary advantage.
In terms of the relegation zone, in addition to Wuxi Wu Hook challenging the leading Sichuan Jiuniu on the road in this round, 15th-ranked Jiangxi Lushan will also start a life-and-death battle with Shanghai Jiading Huilong, which has seven points more than itself.
For Jiangxi Lushan, they only have hope if they get all three points. Otherwise, if they lose, they will not only give their opponents relegation three rounds early, but also relegation early. Because Dandong Tengyue is also likely to get 3 points in this round of away games, while Guangzhou, who has been relegated early. Once Dandong Tengyue wins, Jiangxi Lushan and Wuxi Wuhu will be relegated three rounds early.
