We continue to fly through the Chinese Super League campaign as teams across the top tier attempt to push towards their ultimate goal - whether it be the title, survival or somewhere in between. Today, we’ll be taking a look at an important clash between Shenzhen Ruby and Shandong Luneng.
Shenzhen Form GuideShenzhen have gone from a team looking like they could do something remarkable, to one that is bottom of the table without much of a hope - at least, not for the foreseeable future. They just have no confidence in their team whatsoever and when you blend that together with the overall quality of their side, you get a club that is getting quite easy to predict from one week to the next.
After a dramatic 3-3 draw with Tianjin, Shenzhen have since gone on a terrible run of form that has seen them sink closer and closer towards the trap door. They’ve been beaten by Henan, Shijiazhuang, Shenhua, Dalian and Nanton in a five-game losing stretch.
Shandong Form GuideShandong Luneng have looked really, really strong as of late and that transformation is something to take real pride in. Of course, they need to be able to sustain it, but a top six place is obviously something to build on. If they can start to kill teams off, they’re really going to get somewhere, but there’s a fear that they’ve peaked too early, with many wanting them to start turning draws into wins.
Following a 2-1 loss to Hangzhou, Shandong responded with emphatic wins over Beijing and Meizhou. They did slip up in a 1-0 defeat to Chengdu, but it didn’t take long to get back on track as they battered Shijiazhuang 4-0 before edging past Tianjin 1-0.
Match PredictionShenzhen are at home and they’re in need of a big result, and we do think they’re going to show some initiative here - in the sense that they’re going to go after the visitors for the first 15-20 minutes before falling away. Our official prediction is a Shandong win, and that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
