Hebei v Tianjin

There are unlikely to be many goals in this game. Hebei have managed to score just five goals in total so far and have not found the net in the last three games in succession in the Chinese Super League.  The problem with Hebei’s attack is clear. All five of their goals have been scored by Zhang Wei. Once other teams stop Zhang, there isn’t much of a threat. With that in mind, it is understandable then that Hebei have been focusing on trying to keep things tight at the back.

This has been working, to a point. In the last five games, the team has only conceded six goals, an improvement from 18 in the previous six.  With the heat, trying to slow games down has been a good idea. Hebei are harder to beat but have little attacking presence. At the moment, however, they would love to pick up a point here and there.

Tianjin have been up and down this season but have usually been competitive. The latest result was a 1-0 loss to Shandong, the champions in which they performed pretty well. Tianjin kept the ball well but struggled to penetrate the Shandong defence. 

The addition of Spanish midfielder Fran Merida from Espanyol has added a different dimension to Tianjin and he impressed in his first 33 minutes in the previous game. He is likely to help the team retain possession more effectively but it may take a little more time to start turning that possession into clear chances, especially against a determined defence and I really see this game being something of a stalemate.

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Wuhan Three Towns v Beijing Guoan

Wuhan picked up after the break where they left off, by winning easily, the eighth victory in a row. It was expected against the lowly Guangzhou but what will worry Beijing is that the three Brazilian stars started on the bench. Davidson came on for the second half while Marcao and Ademilson only played the last 18 minutes of a very comfortable win. They are likely to start against Beijing and should be very fresh indeed. The movement and understanding they have developed in attack, along with Nicolai Stanciu, is the reason why Wuhan have a goal difference of plus 30 after just 11 games of the season. The last three wins have all come with clean sheets which will also be welcomed.

Beijing are stuck around mid-table and with just one win in the last six games, there is a little pressure building on the coach. The latest setback was a 3-0 loss to Henan that was not quite as bad as it sounded. Henan were two goals ahead on the break, then sat back and looked to hit Beijing on the counter. Beijing had some good moments but with Henan looking after Zhang Yuning quite well, there is not much alternative threat that Beijing have.

Wuhan’s winning streak has to come to an end soon but they should be too strong for Beijing. As they attack, they may leave the door open for a Beijing goal but Wuhan’s firepower should win through and score plenty of goals.

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Guangzhou FC v Chengdu

Guangzhou had been supposed to play Zhejiang and Chengdu were scheduled to face Changchun before a COVID outbreak meant it was difficult to play the games in the original venue so there was a rapid change of opponents. This is done to ensure that the league continues as much as possible.  It is hard to say how this will affect the preparations of the two teams but it may well mean a less fluid performance for both and a higher chance of fewer goals.

Guangzhou have struggled this season losing nine out of 11 so far though the team has lost by more than one goal and that was last week’s 2-0 defeat to Cangzhou. Guangzhou actually played reasonably well and pressed higher up the pitch than usual and won the ball back in decent positions near the opposition goal but just lacked the attacking quality to make it count. 

Chengdu are one of the form teams in the league at the moment. They have won the last three and are unbeaten in five. Despite that, they are not big scorers and have averaged just one a game so far this season. Chengdu lack a striker. They brought in Brazilian striker Jonathan, who has scored lots of goals in China and Korea in the past, but he has not looked settled since arriving in June and there are reports that he wants to leave the club he only joined a couple of months ago. Another fixture that looks likely to be short on goals.

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