On November 7, the night was low, Shandong Taishan team and Shanghai Shenhua team started a fierce competition in Taishan home field.
In their historical meetings, Shandong Taishan have a slight advantage with 21 wins, 10 draws and 17 losses. However, in their first matchup this season, Shandong Taishan lost 1-2 to Shanghai Shenhua's all Chinese squad.
Recently, Shandong Taishan's hot form saw them beat Tianjin Jinmen Tigers 4-1 with stunning performances from Chen Pu and Cressan to make it three wins in a row and move level on points with Wuhan Sanzhen. However, with the title race heating up, Shandong Taishan cannot afford any slip-ups.
Unfortunately, Wang Dalei was banned for a red card in the last round of matches, posing a hidden danger to the team's defense. And Sun Junhao will also bid farewell to the Chinese Super League and go to the Korean national team. In the face of these challenges, coach Hao Wei said: "Injured players have basically recovered and can participate in training, just need to adjust the state. Every game is crucial and we still need to work hard to get three points."
Meanwhile, Shanghai Shenhua's recent situation is not good. In the past four games, they drew with Shenzhen and Guangzhou, lost to Cangzhou Lions and drew with Yatai. Lack of offense has become the team's biggest problem. Nonetheless, Shenhua showed a strong fighting spirit in their first match of the season with a 2-1 win over Shandong Taishan.
Head coach Wu Jingui said, "Cao Yunding and Peng Xinli both have injuries and are recovering. Facing a strong team like Shandong, we will adopt multiple strategies to play to our strengths."
Here are the starting lineups for both sides:
Shandong Taishan: 18-Han Rongze, 5-Zheng Zheng, 16-Li Hailong, 27-Shi Ke, 39-Song Long, 10-Moises, 21-Liu Binbin, 28-Sun Junhao, 37-Jixiang, 9-Kressan, 29-Chen Pu
Shanghai Shenhua: 1-Ma Zhen, 6-Feng Xiaoting, 8-Zhang Lu, 22-Jin Yangyang, 38-Wen Jiabao (U23), 7-Qian Jie to, 12-Wu Xi, 20-Yu Hanchao, 33-Wang Haijian (U23), 17-Basogo, 36-Liu Ruofanadium (U23)
