Two sides separated by just two points and one place in the Chinese Super League standings square off on Thursday when Wuhan FC take on Cangzhou Mighty Lions at the Dongxihu Sports Centre.
The visiting side head into the midweek clash fresh off the back of a thrilling victory over league leaders Wuhan Three Town and will be looking to build on that result.
Match preview
Wuhan were left empty handed for the third game on the bounce as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Changchun Yatai when the sides met last Saturday.
In a one-sided affair at the Changchun Stadium, former Palmeiras forward Erik put the hosts ahead six minutes before the half-time break before Junior Negrao put the result beyond doubt with a 59th-minute strike.
Wuhan head into Thursday on a run of three consecutive defeats, scoring once and shipping seven goals in that time, while they have picked up just one point from their most recent five games since August's 5-0 win over Guangzhou City.
Jinyu Li's men have picked up five wins, two draws and lost 10 of their 17 games this season to collect 17 points and sit 14th in the Super League standings, one place and two points above Thursday's visitors.
Cangzhou Mighty Lions, on the other hand, returned to winning ways in style when they edged out first-placed Wuhan Three Town 4-3 at the Wuhan Sports Center Stadium last weekend.
Summer signing Jose Kante turned in a performance of the highest quality as he netted all four goals to put the league leaders to the sword and hand them their first defeat of the season.
Cangzhou Mighty Lions were previously on a run of five consecutive games without a win, picking up two points from a possible 15 since their 2-0 home victory over Guangzhou FC on August 7.
Next up for Svetozar Sapuric's side is the daunting task of taking on Wuhan at the Dongxihu Sports Centre, where they have failed to win any of their last four visits since May 2017.
While Cangzhou Mighty Lions will be looking to end this dry spell, they have struggled for results away from home, picking up two wins and losing five of their eight games since the turn of the year.
Team News
After watching his side fail to find the back of the net for the second consecutive game, Jinyu could ring a few changes at the attacking end of the pitch, with Jingbin Wang coming into the fold.
Former Nurnberg striker Felicio Brown Forbes, who has seven goals and one assist in 16 games this season, should retain his role in the final third, alongside Rentian Hu, who has 11 starting appearances under his belt.
At the defensive end of the pitch, we expect a back four of Tian Ming, Xuan Han, Peng Li and Dong Xu once again, while Li Hang and 23-year-old Aoshuang Nie should combine at the centre of the park for the third straight game.
As for Cangzhou Mighty Lions, Kante was a star performer last time out and the former Legia Warszawa man should spearhead the visitors' attack once again, alongside Deabeas Owusu-Sekyere and Oscar Taty Maritu, who has three goals this season.
On the injury front, Sapuric will be unable to call upon the services of 29-year-old Chuangyi Lin, who was forced off injured midway through the game against Wuhan Three Towns last weekend.
In his absence, Zang Yifeng should come into the Cangzhou Mighty Lions XI, teaming up with Georgy Zhukov and Tianjin Jinmen Tiger man Hao Guo at the centre of the park.
Wuhan possible starting lineup:
Wang; Ming, Han, Li, Xu; Hang, Nie, Hu, Huajun; Jingbin, Forbes
Cangzhou Mighty Lions possible starting lineup:
Shao; Shihao, Yang, Yiming, Li; Cao, Yifeng, Zhukov; Maritu, Owusu-Sekyere, Kante
We say: Wuhan 0-2 Cangzhou Mighty Lions
Buoyed by their victory over Wuhan Three Town, Cangzhou Mighty Lions will head into Thursday with renewed belief as they look to steer clear of the relegation zone. Sapuric's men take on a floundering Wuhan side who are currently on a run of five games without a win and we predict that they will grind out another victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
