The Shanghai derby headlines round seven of the 2022 Chinese Super League season as Shanghai Port and Shanghai Shenhua face off at the Shanghai Stadium on Wednesday.
Both teams head into this one off the back of victories in their respective last outings and will be looking to pick up where they left off.
Match preview
Shanghai Port continued their recent resurgence courtesy of a hard-fought 2-1 triumph over Wuhan FC at the Puwan Stadium on Saturday.
Ivan Leko's men took the lead early on through Xin Xu but were pegged midway through the second half by Bruno Viana before Cherif Ndiaye popped up with an 83rd-minute winner.
Having amassed nine of the last 12 points available, the Red Eagles have moved up to eighth place in the standings, and things are looking up once again.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing side who have only come out on top in one of the last 12 previous meetings between the teams.
However, that solitary win did come in the most recent encounter on June 8, when Saturday's hosts fell to a disappointing 2-0 loss against their city rivals.
Shanghai Shenhua claimed a third successive victory as they got the better of Guangzhou FC in Sunday's clash at the Hongkou Stadium.
Wu Jingui's men broke the deadlock through Haijian Wang before doubling their advantage thanks to Yunding Cao after which Shihao Wei pulled one back.
The Flower of Shanghai sit second in the league table as it stands but are level on points with current leaders Wuhan Three Towns.
Ahead of a crunch clash against the aforementioned Wuhan Three Towns four days later, Wednesday's visitors will be seeking to set the tone nicely with a dominant display in this one.
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Team News
Yunding Cao has scored in two of his last three outings, and the 32-year-old will be aiming to come up with the goods for Shanghai Shenhua once again.
Despite failing to score in four matches since then, Christian Bassogog scored the clincher in the last edition of this fixture, making him one to keep an eye on.
Xu Xin had to come off at half time in Shanghai Port's victory over Wuhan due to a slight knock, and the midfielder is a huge doubt for the visitors.
Should Xin be deemed unfit to participate, Shiyuan Yang is expected to come into the XI for what would be only a third starting appearance of the campaign.
Shanghai Port possible starting lineup:
Yan; Li, Wang, Zhang; Lu, Muzepper, Xu, Feng; Ndiaye, Paulinho, Liu
Shanghai Shenhua possible starting lineup:
Ma; Li, Bi, Zhu, Bai; N'Doumbou, Wang, Wu, Cao; Bassogog, Zhu
We say: Shanghai Port 2-1 Shanghai Shenhua
Shenhua head into clash still yet to lose this term and currently firing on all cylinders. However, the hosts have turned a corner in recent weeks, and we are backing them to hand their visitors a first defeat of the campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
