As night falls, the first round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) 2024 season is about to ignite. Reigning champions Shanghai Harbor will face former season champions Wuhan Sanzhen in their own harbor, and this top-level matchup will be delivered to thousands of households through the lens of CCTV5.
The Shanghai seaport and the three towns of Wuhan, where passions collide, have a lot to see:
First of all, the strength of the two teams' foreign aid lineups are dueling. In the new season of the Chinese Super League, both teams are recruiting, Shanghai Seaport spent 17.8 million euros to bring in five foreign players, while Wuhan Three Town spent 8.66 million euros to build their own foreign army. Shanghai Seaport's experienced foreign players and domestic players with unlimited potential are looking forward to blossoming in the new season; Wuhan Sanzhen had to sell domestic players such as Wei Shihao, Xie Pengfei and Yan Dinghao due to financial pressure, which is a choice of no choice, but the overall harmony of the team is more important.
Secondly, can Shanghai Seaport get off to a good start? With a strengthened squad to face a weakened Wuhan Sanzhen, and the advantage of playing at home, the defending champions will no doubt be eager to start the season with a win. My prediction is that Seaports will beat Sanzhen at home, and Wu Lei will be the key man once again. As long as Oscar is in the lineup, the Harbors have the power to win the Chinese Super League. The focus of this match will be the performance of the new foreigners of both teams and the tactical game between the new coaches of both teams, Kevin Muscat and Ricardo Rodriguez. We will have to wait for the match to reveal who will have the upper hand!
The head referee for this matchup will be Fu Ming.
The two teams have met four times since the inception of the Chinese Super League, with Shanghai Seaports winning two and losing two, making it difficult to distinguish between them. The two sides had a double header in the championship season.
Injuries and suspensions on both sides: none at this time.
