The 32nd round of the 2022 Chinese Super League came to an end in a tumultuous battle that saw four winners and losers, three of which were directly related to the fate of relegation. Guangzhou City and Wuhan Changjiang won their respective matches in this round, while Guangzhou suffered an unexpected reversal. Guangzhou City made the decision to initiate relegation, while Changjiang faced an unfavorable schedule. Although Guangzhou maintained the lowest points, they were still disadvantaged in terms of minor points.
After 31 rounds of the Chinese Super League, Guangzhou City is temporarily in the 15th position in the safety zone with 17 points, while Changjiang City is in the second last place with 16 points, only three points more than the bottom Hebei Province. The current relegation situation is clearly visible, i.e. there are three teams competing for the two relegation places.
In this round of matches, Guangzhou won 4-1 against Hebei, Cheung Kong won 3-0 against Dalian, while Guangzhou unfortunately lost 1-3 to Guoan. After the matches, the pattern of the table changed subtly: Guangzhou ranked fourth from the bottom with 20 points, Cheung Kong ranked third from the bottom with 19 points, while Guangzhou ranked second from the bottom with 17 points.
The schedule for the last two rounds is as follows: Guangzhou will challenge Shenzhen on the road and Cangzhou at home; Changjiang will face Chengdu and Zhejiang consecutively; Guangzhou will face Yatai at home and Meizhou on the road. Looking at the schedule, Guangzhou's opponents are weaker and the schedule is relatively favorable. On the other hand, the Yangtze River team's schedule is particularly difficult, not only Chengdu and Zhejiang may affect the preparation for the AFC Champions League, but also the away games in Chengdu and Huzhou will be a real test.
Guangzhou City team took the initiative of relegation by virtue of the points advantage. In the last two rounds, the opponents were not strong. The Shenzhen team will either play in Haikou or Jinjiang. Although Guangzhou can't play their last game at their home ground, the game in Jinjiang may not be a bad thing. It will be extremely difficult for Changjiang to score away in Chengdu and Zhejiang. Guangzhou's home game against Yatai will be played in Jinjiang, while their final game away against Meizhou will be traveling to Wuhua.
Regardless of whether the three teams have the same number of points or the two teams have the same number of points, CK has the advantage in the win-loss column. Guangzhou has a record of 1 win and 1 draw against Guangzhou. Either way, Guangzhou is at a disadvantage in terms of win/loss ratio and currently has the lowest points of the three relegated teams. If Guangzhou can beat Shenzhen or Yatai in the next round of matches, Guangzhou will likely be relegated one round earlier in the final round.
