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So without further delay, let’s get down to business and look at all eight of the upcoming games.
Guangzhou City v Qingdao
Friday, 30th July
Yuexiushan Stadium, Guangzhou
Guangzhou City will be looking to bounce back from Tuesday’s crushing 4-0 defeat to Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic as they come up against struggling Qingdao. Qingdao played just as badly as City last Tuesday and went down 4-1 to Shenzhen.
In this game, coach Wu Jingui made the baffling to decision to start the match with a number of key foreign players on the bench (presumably to give them a rest), only to then bring them on in the second-half when the team was already 3-0 down and the game was pretty much gone. This seemed to be a complete waste of energy given the CSL’s current hectic schedule. And with this sort strange team selection coming into play it’s going to be very difficult to anticipate exactly how Qingdao will line up against City. Whatever they do though, it’s difficult to see them avoiding a fifth straight defeat.
Guangzhou may change things up abit ahead of Friday’s game, but will likely hope that last Tuesday’s defeat was a one off. They will probably avoid resting players and field close to their strongest eleven as they chase their first win since the restart.
One to watch – Guilherme – Should cause Qingdao plenty of problems and may a goal or two.
Prediction – City outclass Qingdao in a 2-0 win.
Shandong Taishan v Henan Songshan Longmen
Friday, 30th July
Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center Central Stadium, Guangzhou
Shandong endured a painful 2-1 defeat to title rivals Guangzhou in round nine and now face a tricky test against a Henan side that are undefeated since the restart.
The centre of midfield could emerge as the key battleground in this tie. Tim Chow has been has been in superb form so far for Henan this year. The combative 27 year-old had done a really effective job in anchoring Henan’s midfield and bringing the team’s more creative players into play. He’ll have a really test this Friday against Shandong however and could find up himself coming up against arguably the CSL’s best midfield pairing in Son Jun-ho and Marouane Fellaini.
How things shape up in the midfield will likely be key in deciding the outcome of this game.
One to watch – Pedro Delgado – The midfield playmaker has really shined in recent matches and will look to carry on his good form against Henan.
Prediction – Shandong claim a hard fought 1-0 win.
Cangzhou Mighty Lions v Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic
Friday, 30th July
Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
The two team’s played out a tightly contested 2-2 draw last time they met and both should really have taken more points have they have done so, so far this year.
Going into the game Cangzhou will need to pick themselves up after two late goals condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at the hands on Henan on Tuesday. They couldn’t have picked a worse time to face Chongqing, who will be flying high after their 4-0 win over Guangzhou City.
Cangzhou however will still definitely be viewing this as a very winnable game and for these sort of matches they generally favour either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-1-2 formation. Chongqing will most likely go with their usual 4-5-1 formation and hope their midfield can do enough to bring lone-striker Miler Bolanos into the game.
One to watch – Miler Bolanos was instrumental in Chongqing’s rout of Guangzhou City and will no doubt try to put in a repeat performance against Cangzhou.
Prediction – 1-1 draw with neither side quite good enough to claim all three points.
Shenzhen v Guangzhou
Friday, 30th July
Huadu Stadium, Guangzhou
Shenzhen turned on the style in their 4-1, round nine win over Qingdao on Tuesday. But will face an entirely different proposition in round 10, as they come up Guangzhou. The eight-time champions have looked really strong since the restart and put the CSL on notice in round nine with a 2-1 win over Taishan.
This has all the makings of a classic. Both teams are in white hot form, as one of the CSL’s most historically dominant teams meets one of this season’s surprise packages. The big question for this game is going to be whether or not Guangzhou can keep a lid on Shenzhen’s flair players. Guangzhou have looked pretty solid at back for most of this season but were pulled apart at times by Guangzhou City in round eight. If Shenzhen’s forwards are able to do a similar job on Guangzhou in this match, then they just might be able claim a famous win.
One to watch –Juan Quintero – Used sparingly against Qingdao, should be refreshed and ready for what will be biggest game in China so far.
Prediction – A pulsating 2-2 draw.
Wuhan v Changchun Yatai
Saturday, 31st July
Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre, Suzhou
Wuhan managed to battle their way to a 0-0 draw against Shanghai Shenhua in their last match and will face a similar tough task if they want to get anything from their game against Changchun Yatai this Saturday.
Yatai claimed a comfortable 4-1 win against Tianjin Tiger in round nine and the ease of this of this win should mean that they don’t have to rest too many players for Saturday’s match. They’ll likely line up in their usual 5-4-1 formation and try to gradually build up attacks from the back.
It’s impossible to predict how Wuhan are going to line-up with their formation, tactics and starting line-up seeming to change every game. There is a good chance though that they may play five at the back again as they did against Shenhua and try to frustrate Yatai. It’s also worth noting that Wuhan did rest a few key players in the Shenhua game, so they should at least be in decent shape to go and have a crack at getting a result in this round 10 encounter.
One to watch – Erik – Put in a good showing for Yatai against Tianjin Tiger and will be looking to do the same against Wuhan.
Prediction – Wuhan’s woes continue as they go down 2-0.
Dalian Pro v Beijing Guoan
Saturday, 31st July
Jiangyin Stadium, Jiangyin
While results don’t see to be a huge priority for Guoan this season, they’ll still want to put in a half-decent showing in the CSL this year. And while they’ve been somewhat disappointing since the restart, a late a goal from Yu Dabao salvaged them a credible draw against Shanghai Port on Wednesday and they really should be able to notch up another win this Saturday as they face Dalian Pro.
Pro have really struggled this year and we shouldn’t expect too much from them in this match. This game could end up being farcically one sided if Pro decide to rest a lot of their regular starters in preparation for Tuesday’s crunch game with Tianjin Tiger.
One to watch – Zhang Yuning – Has scored in three matches and really could do with bagging a few goals against one of the CSL’s weakest teams.
Prediction – An easy 3-0 win for Guoan.
Hebei v Tianjin Tiger
Saturday, 31st July
Kunshan Stadium, Kunshan
Up until this season’s rule change Hebei’s official name was Hebei China Fortune. If they had kept the name, it would now be deeply ironic given the club’s unenviable current financial situation.
Hebei financial woes have seen them off-load their two best foreign players in recent weeks. Losing these key attacking players is going to have huge impact on the team. Although they’ve brought in Portuguese striker Joao Silva as a budget replacement, it’s difficult to see Hebei consistently being able to play at the same level that they had been prior to the break.
That being said though this is the CSL in 2021 and then there is always someone with bigger problems and that’s who Hebei will face in round 10. A financial meltdown led to Tianjin’s squad being gutted in the office season and since they’ve been getting on with it as best they can, grinding out the odd result here and there with some very defensive football.
Expect to see the usual stuff from Tiger here, sit back put men behind the ball and try and hit Hebei on the break.
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