On March 29, with the Chinese Football Association announcing the entry list for the three-tier professional league, Wuhan stood out in the first stage of the new Chinese Super League season, being placed in Group B. Compared to previous years' tournament system, this year's CSL will feature up to 30 rounds of matches, with the final standings determined by cumulative scores, which will determine the number of places from the champions to those who will participate in the CSL's promotion playoffs. Nonetheless, the competition will initially be played in conference groups, with Wuhan's first-round opponents in Group B including Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Harbor, Shanghai Shenhua, Hebei, Guangzhou City, Dalian Ren and newly-promoted Changchun Yatai. Facing such strong opponents, whether Wuhan can come out on top in this fierce competition has become the center of attention.
Say goodbye to single-round relegation, 30-round system is fairer
In the absence of defending champions Jiangsu, Cangzhou Lions, who have been promoted by replacement, will join Group A (Guangzhou Region) in accordance with regulations. The new Chinese Super League season will kick off on April 20 in Guangzhou, with the opening match likely to feature a showdown between last season's runners-up Guangzhou and Cangzhou Lions. The new season of the Chinese Super League will be divided into three stages and will come to an end on December 1 at the latest.
The first stage of the A and B groups was held in Guangzhou and Suzhou respectively. According to the principle of "serpentine arrangement", Guangzhou, Shandong Taishan, Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic, Henan Songshan Longmen, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Shenzhen, Qingdao and Cangzhou Lions were assigned to Group A, while Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Harbor, Shanghai Shenhua, Hebei, Guangzhou City, Dalian People, Wuhan and Changchun Yatai were assigned to Group B. The first stage of the A and B groups was held in Guangzhou and Suzhou. City, Dalian People, Wuhan and Changchun Yatai were placed in Group B.
Compared with last year's tournament system, in which only 20 matches were played, this season's Chinese Super League has a more complete system. The first stage will be divided into two groups, A and B, with each group playing a double round-robin competition for a total of 14 rounds; in the second stage, the top four teams in each group will play a cross double round-robin with the bottom four teams in the other group for a total of eight rounds; and in the third stage, the top four teams and the bottom four teams will form a new group and continue to play a cross double round-robin for a total of eight rounds. In this way, a total of 30 rounds of matches will be played, ensuring that each team will play two matches against each of the other 15 teams, and that the points ranking will be more reasonable, avoiding the phenomenon of relegation with only one win.
As there are no relegation places in the Chinese Super League this season, the bottom two teams will play a two-round promotion and relegation playoff against the third and fourth place finishers in the current season's Chinese First Division, with the winners earning a place in the 2022 Chinese Super League season.
Schedule of the new season's stages of the Chinese Super League
Phase 1 (Rounds 1-5): April 20-May 17 (before the Top 40)
Phase 1 (Rounds 6-14): June 21-August 5 (after the Top 40)
Phase 2 (Rounds 15-22): August 21-September 29
Phase 3 (rounds 23-30): October 24-December 1
The first phase is particularly important
Currently, Wuhan's backline is solid, but unfortunately, the team's forward trio of Evra, Baptisteão and Raphael are temporarily unable to return to their home country due to reasons such as the epidemic and national team matches. Among them, Baptiste and Raphael were affected by the epidemic in Brazil, similar to other teams in the Chinese Super League such as Beijing Guoan's Augusto. Evra will return home after playing for the Ivory Coast national team, but it is unknown whether he will be able to make it in time for the five rounds of the first phase of the group stage after going through a quarantine period to prevent and control the epidemic. This means that Wuhan will have to play solid defense and rely on their homegrown attacking players in the first phase of the tournament to get the desired results.
