October 23, 20:00 pm Beijing time, East Asia Region
AFC Elite
In Round 3, Shanghai Shenhua will host Japanese team Kawasaki Frontale.
In the last round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Shenhua won 2:1 against Henan, while the title rival Shanghai Harbor lost 1:3 against Chengdu Rongcheng. Shanghai Shenhua now has 73 points after 28 rounds, exceeding Shanghai Harbor by 1 point. At this critical stage of the Super League title race, Shanghai Shenhua may strategically give up the elite AFC Champions League and make extensive rotations or even send their second team to play in order to preserve their strength. After all, Shanghai Shenhua has not won the Super League title since its reorganization, and it is now a rare opportunity to win the title.
Here's a prediction of Shanghai Shenhua's likely starting lineup for this match.
Goalkeeper Bao Yaxiong will continue to guard the goal. In the back line, it is expected to be Eddie Francis, Chen Jinyi, Zhu Chenjie and Jin Shunkai starting, Jiang Shenglong may get a rotation.
In midfield, Ibrahim Amadou is likely to rotate, Wu Xi and Wang Haijian partner the double back, Xie Pengfei replaces Joao Teixeira to command the midfield, Yu Hanchao and Xu Haoyang echoed beside Xie Pengfei, and Gao Tianyi, André Luis and Fernando are rotated.
On the forward line, Malelai continues to play in the front line. To summarize, Shanghai Shenhua is expected to rotate 6 key players against Kawasaki Frontale.
The lineup could be: Bao Yaxiong; Eddie Francis, Chen Jinyi, Zhu Chenjie, Jin Shunkai; Wu Xi, Wang Haijian; Yu Hanchao, Xie Pengfei, Xu Haoyang; Malelai.
