With only one day left, Shandong Taishan and Yokohama Mariners are about to face off. Yokohama Mariners are no strangers to Shandong Taishan, as the two teams have met in the AFC Champions League, with Shandong Taishan defeating their opponents twice. Despite the Yokohama Mariners' strong performance in the group stage, there is a significant gap between their current form and that of Shandong Taishan. Before the match, Shandong Taishan started training, but star player Zheng Zheng was absent, which may mean he will miss the match against Yokohama Mariners. This will leave Jadason and Shi Ke to form a new backline, but such a combination is risky. Shandong Taishan will have to be quick to capitalize on the lead as they will have a hard time fending off the Yokohama Mariners' offense to avoid getting caught in a tug-of-war.
Shandong Taishan team is strong in the Chinese Super League and is a strong contender for the title every year, but in the AFC Champions League, the strength of the Chinese Super League team is not outstanding, and facing the Japanese J-League powerhouse, Shandong Taishan team is under tremendous pressure. Especially Shi Ke in the defensive end of the problem, has become a major hidden danger for the team. Zheng Zheng was absent from the training, and Cui Kangxi was dissatisfied with Shi Ke's performance and put him on the bench.
Facing Yokohama Mariners, Shandong Taishan cannot rely on defense alone. The team needs to attack aggressively in front of the field to reduce the pressure on the defense. Choi Kang-hee's tactics require the team to press and counterattack in front of the field. Shandong Taishan, playing at home, should make full use of this advantage and try to take the lead as early as possible so as to reduce pressure and increase confidence.
All five foreigners will play at the same time in this match. Fellaini and Cressan will continue to be the core of the team up front, Moises will act as the midfield metronome, and Jadson will be the key to the defense. Pato's form is gradually picking up and is expected to play well in this game. Liu Yang and Liu Binbin are back in the team, and their breakthrough ability will be the highlight of the game. Shandong Taishan should make full use of their height advantage, headers and the speed and passing ability of the side players to get a good result in the match.
