The eighth round of the Chinese Super League sees Carlos Tevez’s Shanghai Shenhua travel to Paulinho’s table-topping Guangzhou Evergrande on Friday. Shanghai sit in 7th place, three points behind Evergrande and need a win to avoid being well and truly left behind.
Jiangsu Suning and Yanbian play the other match on Friday. Both teams need a win to climb away from the relegation zone. Jiangsu sit rock bottom with three points while Yanbian sit two places clear of the drop on five points.
The first match on Saturday sees mid-table Tianjian Quanjian face Changchun Yatai, who are fighting to stay above the drop zone. Also fighting to stay out of the relegation places are Henan Jianye, who currently occupy the last relegation spot but could take the step out of it by beating 9th placed Chongqing Lifan. Chongqing had a nightmare of a midweek as they lost in the FA Cup to the awesomely named League Two team Heilongjiang Lava Spring
Third-placed Shanghai SIPG play bottom half team Guizhou Zhicheng and could take the top of the table if other results go their way. Guizhou also had an awful midweek as they got knocked out of the cup by League One team Shanghai Shenxin and had two people sent off in the 5-3 loss.
A mid-table battle sees 10th placed Tianjin TEDA welcome 12th placed Liaoning to the Tianjian Tuanbo Football Stadium for a match that both teams need to win. Liaoning could end up dangerously close to the relegation places if they lose and the other results go against them. They don’t have the best of form having also lost in the cup to League One team Hangzhou Greentown.
On Sunday the biggest match of the round kicks-off. Fourth-placed Shandong Luneng play second-placed Guangzhou R&F. Both teams have been good at keeping their own goals under lock and key while at the same time scoring heaps. An interesting end to end match should be expected.
The final match of the round sees fifth and sixth play each other. Hebei China Fortune travels to the capital to play Beijing Guoan as both teams look to move into the final Champions League spot with a win.