Chengdu Qianbao will be looking to keep the pressure on the sides above them in the Chinese Super League when they head to Cangzhou Stadium to take on Cangzhou Mighty Lions on Monday.
The hosts come into this match off the back of a 1-1 draw against the unbeaten Tianjin Jinmen Tiger in midweek, while the visitors secured an important 2-0 win over Henan to remain in the top three.
Match preview
Cangzhou Mighty Lions took the early lead against Tianjin JT through an Oscar Maritu goal inside the first five minutes of the game, but they were only able to hold on to the lead for three minutes before Farley Rosa levelled the match.
With that result, Zhao Junzhe's side remained in 10th place but moved to 18 points after 16 matches, with a record of four wins, six draws and six losses to date.
In terms of home form, the hosts have managed to take just nine points from a possible 27 at Cangzhou Stadium, which is the third-worst record of any side in the league, with only Wuhan TT and bottom club Dalian Pro faring worse.
Junzhe's major concern will be around his side's defensive issues, as they have shipped the third-most (25) in the league this season and have only managed to maintain one clean sheet in 16 matches so far.
However, while their stats from the first half of the season does not inspire too much confidence, Changzhou are unbeaten in their last three league matches (W1 D2 L0), which is a feat they have only managed once this term, and it sets a solid platform for them to build on in the second half of the campaign.
Meanwhile, following back-to-back defeats to Beijing Guoan and Meizhou Hakka, the visitors bounced back well in their last match to beat Henan 2-0 with second-half goals from Chow Tim and Tang Xin.
That win also saw them cut the gap between themselves and Shanghai Shenhua in second place to a single point after the latter were beaten 3-0 by Shandong Taishan at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium on the same day.
Chengdu Qianbao were unbeaten for the first 13 games this season before losing to Beijing, and they are now on 30 points after 16 matches, seven points behind Shanghai Port at the top of the standings and two clear of the side in fourth.
In away matches, the visitors have recorded three wins, three draws and one loss in their seven games to date, which is the fifth-best away record this season, and they also have the third-best defensive stats, having only conceded seven goals on the road.
Seo Jung-won's side won the reverse fixture against this opponent 2-1 back in April this year and will be in an excellent position if they win here again, with three very winnable fixtures to come in the next three game weeks.
Team News
Junzhe will have a full squad at his disposal for this match and may opt for the 3-4-2-1 formation he put out last match over the usual 4-3-3 that we have seen for most of the season.
Jurgen Locadia should start in attack with Deabeas Owusu-Sekyere and Maritu in behind him, while Georgy Zhukov could make way for Chuangyi Lin to return in midfield.
Yan Zhang will serve the second of his three-match ban in this one, which will mean that Xiaofeng Geng will continue in goal for the visitors.
In front of him, Ruibao Hu has shaken off a knock he picked up against Meizhou Hakka and could replace Yang Yiming in the three-man defence.
Cangzhou Mighty Lions possible starting lineup:
Shao; Yang, Zheng, Liu; Zhao, Piao, Wang, Lin, Maritu, Owusu-Sekyere; Locadia
Chengdu Qianbao possible starting lineup:
Geng; Hu, Windbichler, Liu; M. Tang, Feng, Chow, X. Tang; Palcios, Felipe, Elkeson
We say: Cangzhou Mighty Lions 1-2 Chengdu Qianbao
Barring the two losses they conceded at the start of the month, Chengdu Qianbao have been superb this season, and having won their last match, they will be looking to kick on from here. The visitors have not lost to this opponent in their last three meetings, and we fancy them to secure another win in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
