So, back to it then. After an international break where the Chinese national team didn’t play it’s been a rather quiet period for most of the teams. Now it’s back to the day to day basics but before we get to the preview of this round let’s update you on the tiny bit of action that did happen during the break in case you’ve missed it.
Two postponed matches from earlier this season were played on the 27th and 28th of September as Tianjin TEDA defeated Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng 3-1, while the other Tianjin team, Quanjian, lost 1-0 to Jiangsu Suning.
Now, let’s get to this weekend’s action.
The first match of this 27th round is in a few hours time when league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande take on second from bottom Yanbian Funde. This should be an easy win for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men but Yanbian have shown that they can put up a fight when they want to and with relegation staring them in the face, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Tomorrow, bottom of the league Liaoning Whowin host second-placed Shanghai SIPG in the early kick-off. Liaoning are winless in seven games while SIPG have one loss in the last five in the league, and two in the last ten. A win is expected for the Shanghai side but as with Yanbian, Liaoning have the motivation of trying to avoid relegation which can move mountains on a good day.
As for the main part of the Saturday kick-offs, Shandong Luneng and Tianjin Quanjian face up in an important battle to try and catch third-placed Hebei who will play Jiangsu Suning at the same time. Two very exciting matches could be in store there.
The final game in that main part tomorrow is between mid-table sides Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng and Changchun Yatai, a match for two teams in no-man’s land.
On Sunday Guangzhou R&F will play Henan Jianye who are seemingly safe from relegation. R&F only have six points up to the third place so if they can find some kind of form for the run-in they could actually still make it. But they have to win as good as every game remaining.
The same cannot be said for neither Shanghai Shenhua nor Tianjin TEDA with both teams closer to the relegation zone. Shenhua are safe bar a disaster/miracle from the teams below them but TEDA are a different story. TEDA only have three points on Yanbian in the relegation zone and need to build on that win they had in the postponed game if they want to survive this season.
The match between Beijing Guoan and Chongqing Lifan has been postponed to Wednesday 25th of October.