On the night of April 23rd, the first round of the new Chinese Super League (CSL) season will kick off with a major showdown between Shanghai Shenhua and Beijing Guoan. This Beijing-Shanghai battle, traditionally a pure competition between the Chinese Super League giants, is full of suspense and passion. Five Star Sports will present you the live broadcast of this exciting match on April 23rd (tomorrow) at 19:50 on time!
However, this is also a Beijing-Shanghai battle full of unknowns and familiarity. Due to last year's special system, Guoan and Shenhua, who are located in two different regions, were not able to face each other.
Looking back at the 2019 season, Shenhua's two matches in the league were both defeated by Guoan with a score of 1-2, and Wu Yizhen and Ighalo, who scored for Shenhua, have moved on to other teams. The years have gone by, and now Shenhua's forward line has been replaced by Jin Xinyu, Bassogo and Yang Xu.
However, Jin Xinyu has just recovered from injury, Bassogo first arrived, Yang Xu's fluctuating status, looks as if it is not as good as last season's golden boot Bakambu. In yesterday's pre-match conference, Choi Kang-hee also said: "Guoan is a team with outstanding strength in offensive organization and midfield, we have made special arrangements for individual positions, but for the overall organization of the competition staff, we have not yet worked out the final plan, of course, we will do our best to play a good game."
Cui Kangxi, while praising his rivals, may also be aware that Shenhua has placed heavy bets on their midfield strength this season. Adrian and Wu Xi's joining undoubtedly enhance the team's influence in the midfield, Shenhua more favorable is that the core of Guoan's midfielder Augusto is still stranded in Brazil failed to return.
The last time Shenhua beat Guoan in a tournament dates back to the 2017 AFC Cup. Four years on, if Shenhua can take all three points from Guoan to get the new season off to a good start, it would certainly be an excellent start to the team's entire season!
