Source: Yangcheng Evening News
In the 17:30 fixture, Guangzhou Football Team is about to challenge Shanghai Harbour Team in the fourth round of the first phase of the Chinese Super League. Originally, this matchup was a top-level competition between the strongest teams in the Chinese Super League, but as Guangzhou's competitiveness has slipped, the balance of victory has been completely tilted in favor of Shanghai Harbor.
At the end of the first three rounds of the new Chinese Super League season, Guangzhou, a team dominated by young players, suffered consecutive defeats to Shanghai Shenhua, Wuhan Sanzhen and Wuhan Changjiang, recording three consecutive defeats to start the season for the first time in the team's history and becoming the only team in the league that has yet to break the goal scoring drought.
In the last round of the match with Wuhan Yangtze River team, Guangzhou team had 13 shots on goal, showing the best offensive momentum so far in the season, and was only one goal away from breaking the deadlock. In response, head coach Liu Zhiyu said that the players in the attacking line have been working very hard, "Everyone is adapting to each other, after all, the young strikers and the players who have had outstanding performances in the league before still need some time to gel, and in fact, we have already tried a variety of methods and efforts in the attacking side."
In the face of three consecutive defeats, Liu Zhiyu was blunt: "From the formation of the team until now, our sense of crisis has always existed. Now we do not set goals, it is to fight one game at a time, all the players are trying to fight, at present we still need to put down the burden and focus on the present."
Against Shanghai Shenhua in the first round and Wuhan Changjiang in the last round, Guangzhou adopted a four-guard strategy on the defensive end and only conceded one goal in the two games. With Wu Shaochong, the main defender for this match, back from suspension, the team is expected to still play with four defenders, first based on defense and then looking for attacking opportunities. "After three league games, the players are gradually adapting to the rhythm of the league. The key to this game is who makes fewer mistakes and who is more focused." Liu Zhiyu pointed out. Wu Shaocong, who participated in the pre-match conference, also believes that the team is improving with each game, "As long as we continue to improve our deficiencies, victory will eventually come."
Shanghai Harbour Team celebrated their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Hebei in the last round, with new signings Zhang Linpeng and Ndiaye both scoring. The focus of this match will be how Zhang Linpeng and Xu Xin, who is returning after a two-round suspension, will face their old masters.
Despite the fact that Shanghai Seaports is missing two foreign players, Oscar and Muy, and the pre-season preparations were not systematic, the team's overall strength is still significantly better than Guangzhou's. Head coach Leko also believes that the team's performance in both offense and defense has significantly improved in the last round. Head coach Leko also believes that his team's performance in the last round has improved significantly in both offense and defense, and with the new additions Zhang Linpeng and N'Diaye's form picking up, it will be a tough challenge for Guangzhou, who has been on a losing streak for a long time.
