As the night falls and the lights come on, the prelude to the 2024 season of the Chinese Super League (CSL) is about to be unveiled on March 1 at 8pm. An evenly matched battle will take place at the stadium of the defending champions Shanghai Harbor, and the challengers will be the previous season's dominant champions Wuhan Sanzhen. The match will be broadcast in real time to millions of fans through the lens of CCTV5.
Shanghai Harbor versus Wuhan Three Towns, the highlights of the tournament are all in one place:
First of all, the lineups of the two teams are of interest. The new season of the Chinese Super League has brought in fresh blood, with Shanghai Seaport and Wuhan Three Town both bringing in five foreign stars. Seaport's foreigners have a market value of 17.8 million euros, while Wuhan Sanzhen's combination of foreigners is worth only 8.66 million euros. Harbour's foreigners are still strong at the age of 30, and their local players are seen as potentially high-priced and eager to set new records in the new season, while Wuhan Sanzhen had to sell top domestic players such as Wei Shihao, Xie Pengfei, and Yan Dinghao due to financial difficulties, which is a reluctant move, but it also highlights the importance of the team's survival.
Secondly, will Shanghai Seaport be able to get the ball rolling in their first match? Facing the slightly weaker Wuhan Sanzhen and the advantage of playing at home, Seaport is determined to win. As the defending champions, they are eager to make a good start to the new season. In this matchup, I am confident that Seaport can beat Sanzhen at home, and Wu Lei will be the key man for the team. As long as Oscar stays healthy, Harbour's road to the title will be more open. The match will also focus on the performance of the new foreigners and the tactical game between the new managers of the two teams, Kevin Muscat and Ricardo Rodriguez, who will have the last laugh, the suspense is high and worth waiting for!
It's worth noting that the game will be officiated by Fu Ming.
Since Wuhan Sanzhen joined the Chinese Super League, the two teams have met four times, Shanghai seaports 2 wins and 2 losses, a draw. Both sides in the championship season realized the "double kill" against each other.
There are no injuries to report on either side at this time.
