On June 6, a much-anticipated fixture is about to take place. Chongqing Tongliang Dragons FC of the China B League officially announced that they will welcome Chengdu Rongcheng to their home ground, Tongliang Dragons Stadium, for the third round of the 2023 Chinese FA Cup on Friday, June 23rd at 19:30pm.
The announcement revealed that although many fans expected the game to be held in the "big stadium", the music department also invested efforts, but due to a combination of factors, the final decision to Chengdu-Chongqing Derby battlefield in the familiar Tongliang Long Stadium. The club would like to ask the fans to understand and support the team as always.
Looking back at the first two rounds of the FA Cup, Chongqing Tongliang Dragons first knocked out Chinese Champions League side Rizhao Yuchi 6-1 away from home, and then followed that up with a 3-0 home win over Chinese League One side Shijiazhuang Kung Fu. Now, they will host Chinese Super League powerhouse Chengdu Rongcheng in the third round, kicking off the Chengdu-Chongqing derby once again. Many Chongqing fans are looking forward to the game being played in a bigger stadium, which is the focus of this announcement.
It's worth noting that the Chengdu-Chongqing Derby will be played on Friday night and tickets are bound to be hot.
As the promotion horse of this season's Second Division League, Chongqing Tongliang Dragons won the runner-up of the Champions League in 2022. Currently, in the preliminary stage of the 2023 season, they are leading the South Zone standings with 4 wins, 1 draw, 13 goals scored, 4 goals conceded and 13 points. Chengdu Rongcheng, as a "second year student" of the Chinese Super League, is in the second place of the table with 6 wins, 5 draws, 19 goals scored, 12 goals conceded and 23 points in the 2023 Chinese Super League season.
The meeting of these two undefeated teams in the FA Cup will undoubtedly be an exciting Chengdu-Chongqing derby and Southwest China showdown. According to the FA Cup rules, Chinese Super League and Chinese First Division teams are not allowed to use foreign players when playing against Chinese Second Division or amateur teams, which means that Chengdu Rongcheng will be playing an all Chinese team, providing Chongqing Tongliang Dragons with a chance to blow the game wide open. Chongqing Tongliang Dragons, who have many powerful veterans and rookies in their team, such as Wu Qing, Zhao Hejing, Huang Xiyang, etc., are fully capable of making a comeback in this Chengdu-Chongqing derby when they play at home.
As for the final direction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Derby, everything is still waiting for time to reveal.
