Shanghai Shenhua will face Shandong Taishan at the Jinzhou Stadium in Dalian in a postponed match of the 12th round of the Chinese Super League on August 31 at 19:30 Beijing time.
[History of exchange]
The two teams have met 47 times in various tournaments, with Shandong Taishan holding a slight advantage with 21 wins, 10 draws and 16 losses.
[Shanghai Shenhua]
After a difficult stretch of four rounds without a win, Shanghai Shenhua climbed to fifth place on the table with 26 points after a 2-0 win over Guoan in the last round thanks to goals from Yu Hanchao and Bassogao.
Shenhua's offense has been mediocre this season, but their defense has been relatively solid, conceding only 13 goals in 14 games. Facing Shandong Taishan, who are known for their ball control, Shenhua can take advantage of their counter-attacking speed, and given the excellent performance of Yu Hanchao and Bassogao in the last round, they are expected to continue their excellent offensive performance in this round.
[Shandong Taishan]
Shandong Taishan beat Wuhan Changjiang 2-1 in the last round, relying on Chen Pu's brilliant performance, to win 9 consecutive matches and put continuous pressure on Wuhan Sanzhen, but the consecutive scoring record of top scorer Cressan was also interrupted. In addition, Taishan head coach Hao Wei returned to Shandong due to a family matter, and the game was temporarily directed by assistant coach Hisashi Kurosaki.
Although Taishan's winning streak is still going strong, their recent performance is a bit dull, and they need to adjust their form for the crucial battle with Wuhan Sanzhen. The opponent of this round, Shenhua, has been performing well, especially in counterattacks, and beat Guoan 2-0 in the last game with sharp counterattacks. Taishan needs to get back to the form of Cressan, and the main winger Guo Tianyu needs to improve his performance as well.
[Predicted starting lineup]
Shanghai Shenhua: 19-Zeng Cheng, 4-Jiang Shenglong (U23), 22-Jin Yangyang, 24-Xu Yougang, 38-Wen Jiabao (U23), 7-Qian Jie gave, 12-Wu Xi, 20-Yu Hanchao, 33-Wang Haijian (U23), 9-Yang Xu, 17-Bassogo
Shandong Taishan: 14 - Wang Dalei, 5 - Zheng Zheng, 11 - Liu Yang, 27 - Shi Ke, 10 - Moises, 28 - Sun Junhao, 33 - Jin Jingdao, 37 - Ji Xiang, 9 - Kressan, 29 - Chen Pu, 7 - Guo Tianyu (U23)
